When Ego and Pride Collide
by scrittore18
Summary: Collecting PhDs. Helping her brothers. Those were the only two goals that Sinead Starling had before one conceited individual entered into her life, throwing her off-balance. This was going to be a long month. (Jonead, sprinkled with Natan and hints of Amian, now COMPLETE!)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hey guys, I just want to say a couple of things before you start reading. Sorry, I'm not a fan of long author's notes but I don't want anyone to be confused while reading.**

 **#1. This story is set after the 39 clues initial series, but the Vesper series hasn't taken place. That being said, there won't be any action (see #3). This might make the characters seem a little OCC, but remember, they've all grown up since then.**

 **#2. I'm basing Sinead's personality off of her first few appearances and am taking some liberty with the rest. Don't judge me. I'm also writing Jonah a bit different, but the reasons for that will be revealed soon.**

 **#3. I'm not very good at writing action, so if that's what you want, you might want to pick another story. This is a romance, although there will be a plot. I do love Cahill's in action, and I know that's what the entire series have been based on, but I've tried and can't write realistic action. I do love reading other people's fanfiction though that are talented in that area.**

 **#4. I really would like feedback so please review! Also, I have done a lot of research for this story as I like to be accurate so please tell me if there are any geographic/detail mistakes that I've made and I will fix them!**

 **#5. Enjoy reading!**

-Chapter 1-

Sinead Starling wasn't one to let her emotions take over her, but today she could in fact sum every emotion that was coursing through her in one word: _stressed_. She looked over at the clock; 5:45pm. She took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her long auburn hair, wishing that next week was already here.

Sinead, now 19, had been in college since she was 14 years old. Initially she had been accepted at Yale where she studied to get her PhD in Science Engineering, and was there until the clue hunt. Once returning home though, she became good friends with Amy, and after 2 years and talking it over with her family decided to transfer to Boston University to finish her degree.

Normally the semester would end in May, but there was a mandatory project that had to be finished during the summer, and Sinead and her team had been working on it for the past several weeks. It wasn't too bad, but it involved a lot of research and teamwork. Their project was to design a software system from scratch, which normally wouldn't phase Sinead. But her other teammates were perfectionists like she was (only they didn't have the Ekaterina serum running through their DNA like she did), so they kept wanting to reassess and redo and rewrite everything. Still, it was nice to be on a team of people like that. She was so used to staying closed off from people, and with the exception of Dan and Amy and her brothers, a couple of her teammates were the only other friends that she had.

 _Just this one last project,_ she thought to herself, _then you have a break before you start on your next PhD._

At these thoughts, a lot of people may have looked at Sinead, an Ekaterina genius, and thought that maybe she was just collecting degrees due to boredom. The Starlings, who had been raised with considerable wealth due to their many inventions, did not have to work or earn a degree to survive. What hardly anyone else knew though, that was Sinead, whose next PhD (this time in Molecular & Translational Medicine) _needed_ these degrees. She needed them to help her brothers.

She was one of the Starling triplets, and both she and her brothers had been injured in the clue hunt. Although nearing the end of the hunt Ted had drawn diagrams (with the assistance of Reagan Holt) of an invention he had thought of to help avoid the many risks that surgeries would bring, her brothers weren't in perfect shape. They both tried to reassure her that it was as good as it was going to get, with Ted's eyesight almost normal and Ned's headaches only a rare thing, but Sinead wanted her brothers to be completely rid of the symptoms. Poor Ted would have to wear a strong prescription the rest of his life, and his eyesight would only get worse with time, and Ned still had occasional headaches, although he insisted that the pain was bearable. But Sinead had always been protective of her brothers, and was determined to do everything in her power to help them.

 _If I can't use my "ingenious brain" to help my brothers, then what good am I?_

The words flitted through her mind and she tried to push them away. She just needed to focus on this last element of the project, which consisted of finishing some testing tonight and meeting with her team tomorrow to turn in the final project to their teacher, and she would be done, ready to start on the next phase of her plan. She stretched again and looked at the clock. Only a few minutes had passed, and Sinead decided that she could afford a short break.

She stepped out of the room and down the stairs, passing what they had deemed the "Music room", or as Sinead silently called it, the "Noise Room". She said it in jest, but really, it was the place where Dan went to bang on the drums for what seemed like hours. She shook her head affectionately, she had only lived here a year, but Dan was already like a little brother, and acted like one too.

Speaking of the little devil, there he was, sitting in front of the T.V., curled up in a blue blanket like he didn't have a care in the world. He looked up as she passed him on her way to the kitchen.

"Finally escaping your cave huh?" He asked lazily. She rolled her eyes at him, "It's not like I live in there!"

At Dan's raised eyebrows, she hastily walked on, knowing that he would win this argument. And Sinead didn't like losing.

Upon entering the kitchen she found Amy there, stirring what smelled like gumbo. "Yum." Sinead went over to peer in the pot, "That smells amazing."

Amy smiled at her, "I've wanted to try this recipe for ages." She admitted. "You can be my guinea pig"

Sinead shrugged, "Sounds great to me, I've been living off of frozen food and take-out for weeks." She sat wearily down at the table. "I am totally ready for this project to be over with. So is the rest of the group."

Amy pursed her lips sympathetically, "Yes I know you've contacted them quite a few times, wasn't that Julie earlier that called you?"

"No, that was Michael. Julie called this morning though." She said, referring to two out of the four team members she had been working closely with the last week.

Parker and Liam, the other two guys on the team, were also working on the project with them.

Amy nodded, "Well, soon it will be over, and we will be off to Beverly Hills."

Sinead nodded absently, then Amy's words caught up with her and her head snapped up.

"Beverly Hills?" She echoed. "What?"

Amy stared at her. "I told you a month ago remember, that Jonah invited us all out to his place for a few weeks? I asked if you wanted to go after your finals and before your next class and you agreed!"

Sinead stared helplessly back at her. "I did?" She said weakly, racking her brain for a trace of what Amy was telling her.

She had remembered Amy saying something about Jonah and vacation, but that's all she had remembered. She didn't know much about Jonah Wizard, their extremely famous and wealthy Janus cousin, besides that he was a stuck-up jerk. Although he had supposedly changed at the end of the clue hunt and wasn't as ruthless, she had managed to catch a few interviews on T.V. and wasn't impressed.

"Yes." Amy responded, looking slightly apologetic, her green eyes flickering over Sinead's face. "You have been so busy that I didn't want to bother you with the details, but I've arranged the flight for next week and already told Jonah that we would be there."

Sinead frowned, staring down at the table. She wanted to relax on her break, not spend time with people she barely knew. Not to mention probably getting chased down by the paparazzi everywhere they went, seeing as they would be with Jonah.

"I think I'll stay here. I need to unwind. Besides, Jonah isn't exactly someone I would want to spend that much time with." Her tone turned dry on the last part.

"Sinead! You have to go!' Sinead looked up, surprised at the urgency in her cousin's tone. Amy went on, "I don't want to go by myself, do you know how awkward that will be with just Nellie and Dan and a bunch of people I'm related to but barely know?"

"Won't Nellie and Dan help though?"

Amy shook her head, sighing. "Nellie will be in heaven with all of the noise and people, and will probably spend her time chasing down celebrities; Dan will be busy with Natalie. Seriously Sinead, I'm surprised that you haven't at heard Dan talking about this nonstop the last few weeks."

Sinead flushed, "I guess I've been too focused on school," she muttered, wondering herself how she had missed it. She was supposed to be the smart one out of the bunch.

Amy brought the soup to the table and hollered at Dan to come and eat. Nellie was out for the night and wouldn't be joining them.

"You have been busy." Amy agreed. "But I think seeing our cousins will be good for us, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Madrigal. It will be fun, but I need you there. You're so much better at that stuff than I am."

Sinead sighed, knowing that Amy was going to win this one. "Fine." She said as Dan entered the room. "But I don't think I'm going to have much fun with Mr. Gangsta leading the activities."

"Are you talking about Jonah?" Dan plopped down beside her, "He's cool. I think it will be a lot of fun."

"You're just excited to see Natalie." Sinead muttered grudgingly.

Dan smiled, "Of course I am", He said enthusiastically, "But Jonah has a huge mansion and lots of connections and knows a lot of people so we will have a blast. I heard he has an entire room devoted to arcade games, and a separate one for video games too!"

It figured that Dan would be excited about all of the gadgets. Although slightly more mature now at 15, he still was enthusiastic about certain things, like video games and stuff.

 _With Natalie there though,_ Sinead mused, _he will be reigned in slightly._

She was still surprised at times at their relationship, but could see how it worked. Dan seemed to be the total opposite of the British princess (the title the family deemed her), but together they balanced each other out. Dan mellowed as far as his rashness, and Natalie wasn't as uppity. And they genuinely cared for each other.

Sinead would never admit this to anyone, but she was a secret romantic, just not with her own life. Practicability and briskness was her angle, she didn't mince words or her feelings. Except when it came to her private feelings and thoughts, those were different.

They discussed travel plans as they ate, and Sinead resigned herself to the fact that she was going to stuck in Beverly Hills for almost a month. At least she could take things with her in case she decided to retreat in her room most of the trip, and she had to admit that she was curious about her cousins and their whereabouts the past couple of years. She had seen Natalie a bit over the past year of course, but no one else.

As if sensing her thoughts, Amy paused and shot her a smile. "It won't be so bad Sinead, it could be a lot of fun!"

Sinead tried to smile back, but it felt forced.

Fun.

"Yeah, we will see." She replied, but felt doubtful.

 **So there it is, the first chapter! Don't forget to drop me a review!**

 **Oh, and I tried to find a beta reader and didn't have any luck. If anyone is interested or sees any mistakes please let me know!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the next chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I promise to answer each review soon. Hope this one doesn't disappoint!**

 **BTW I'm still looking for a beta reader. I really need help with my descriptions and probably my grammar too. Jonah is tough to write sometimes *sweats* and I'm trying to keep everyone somewhat in character, although like I said in my first author's note I'm taking some liberty here.**

 **-Chapter 2-**

The next week leading up to the trip had been pretty busy. After turning in their final, Sinead and her project team had gone out that night to celebrate, and ended up staying out pretty late. Then the next morning, Amy recruited her to go shopping for the trip, claiming that Sinead knew how to dress better than her. Sinead didn't mind shopping, she got what she wanted and didn't care what anyone else thought, but she knew that Amy would want to blend in without having too much attention on her during the trip.

She wished they had thought to take Nellie though, because the very next morning, they had to listen to the older girl freak out all day about not having the right clothes or shoes, and had to go with her also to 'help' her pick things out. Sinead thought that Nellie really hadn't needed their help, because the girl hadn't listened to their suggestions.

Now, the next morning, they were all bleary-eyed but excited (even Sinead), as they looked around the city of Los Angeles. They weren't strangers to new and exotic places, but during the Clue Hunt their focus hadn't been on the sights.

"Wooooow you guys." Nellie breathed dreamily. "L.A. then Beverly Hills! Do I look ok?"

She paused from gawking to stare down frantically at her clothes. "I could change into the black shirt.."

Dan shook his head, "No time, look!" He was pointing to a large stretch limo that had the word 'WIZARD' in lights on it.

"You look great Nellie." Amy assured, and then turned to gape at the limo.

Personally, Sinead was slightly impressed. The limo was red and sleek, but she thought the gleaming sign was a bit overboard. A man stepped out and they walked over to him, meeting him right in front of the limo.

He didn't ask for identification, which Sinead thought was strange. She whispered this to Amy as they climbed in, but Amy responded, "Jonah texted me this morning and asked what we were wearing so that he could tell his driver."

"Oh." Sinead was taken aback, "He texted you?"

"Yes," Amy said patiently. "He's really excited to see us."

Sinead bit back a sarcastic retort, and looked around, taking in the limo. It wasn't as fancy inside as she had thought, no flashy lights or anything. The seats were black leather and were nice enough, and there was a full table, bar, and fridge in it, but nothing like Sinead had expected.

She leaned her head back, trying to rest. Nellie was gushing over everything, even looking out the window for celebrities, and Dan was chowing down the snacks from the bar, but Amy joined Sinead, letting out a tired sigh.

Sinead smiled sympathetically, knowing that Amy was nervous to see everyone, especially Ian, but didn't say anything.

It was a 2 hour drive to Beverly Hills, and Sinead actually dozed most of the way. She normally didn't nap easily, but the weekend had been so busy and the limo ride was so relaxing. After about 30 minutes they had settled in and there was soft music playing, a perfect setting for a nap. She was a little disoriented when she awoke, but saw the leather and remembered. She yawned and looked over at everyone else. Dan looked bored and anxious, peering out the window. Nellie was jamming on her iPod (still looking for celebrities though), and Amy was doing something on her phone. She looked up at Sinead, flashing her a small smile.

"We are about 15 minutes away, according to the driver. I just texted Jonah; he said that he was planning to be there but he was called away for a few hours."

 _Oh darn._ Sinead thought sarcastically, but didn't say it out loud, not wanting another lecture from Amy. Instead she said, "15 minutes? I didn't know I slept that long."

Dan glanced over at her. "Believe it. And I tried and couldn't sleep at all." He sighed. "I'm so excited but wish that Natalie and Ian would be here today."

"When are they coming in?" Sinead asked, feeling silly for having to do so. Normally she was on top of everything and really organized.

"Tomorrow morning." Dan moaned, but then brightened. "But they get to stay the whole time. They weren't sure if they could at first, due to some Lucian thing."

Dan then spent the rest of the ride talking about his girlfriend, leaving the others to listen in amused silence. You would never have thought that at one time the two didn't get as long nearly as well as they did now. Then the limo turned into a lane, and all them were gaping again.

Sinead, Amy, and Dan, all having their own fortunes, were used to big houses, nice cars, and unlimited finances. But this house was amazing. It looked more like a fancy resort, with palm trees out front, a huge circular driveway, and Sinead couldn't even tell where it ended. It seemed to stretch on forever.

"Wow, this is so cool!" Dan didn't wait for the driver and burst out of the limo.

Amy just shook her head but she and Nellie followed him, leaving Sinead sitting in the limo, still taking it in. She couldn't help but be floored by the size of the house, no _mansion_ , but she told herself to get a grip and didn't let herself become impressed. Her distant cousin may be wealthier than any of them, but that didn't make him a better person. She joined the others who were already being led up the steps of the massive house.

She could hear the butler tell them that he would show them their rooms, to "make themselves at home" (Jonah's orders), and that the star would be back as soon as possible to give them a formal tour.

They entered to a huge entryway with 2 staircases leading up to the second story. Sinead could see an open living area beyond the stairs, filled with modern looking furniture and an even more modern grand piano off to the side.

She followed the butler upstairs, feeling weird for not carrying her own suitcases. Sure, she had grown up with money, but her parents didn't have staff like that and she wasn't used to other people waiting on her hand and foot.

He led Dan to his room first, then Nellie, then turned to Amy and Sinead.

"The mansion only has 9 bedrooms." He sounded apologetic. "But Jonah said that you two wouldn't mind sharing a room?" He said it like a question.

Amy and Sinead shrugged. "Fine with us." Amy responded.

He led them in, turning on the lights and gesturing to the men with their luggage to leave it. Then they were left alone. Sinead glanced around the room, which was huge, boasting 2 beds, a large window, a fireplace and bookshelf, and two other doors connecting to it. Curious, she opened them. One was a large bathroom with a hot tub, and the other was a walk-in closet.

Amy followed her, looking pleased. "Wow, this is pretty nice. I don't mind sharing at all but it is nice to have a lot of space. And look at the bookshelf."

She gazed adoringly at it, causing Sinead to chuckle. She didn't mind a good book herself, but was more an outdoor and sports person. She did love hard mysteries, although she usually was able to figure everything out before the author revealed it.

Amy's phone went off, and she walked over to check it. "It's Dan, he wants to explore and wants to know if we want to go with him." She said.

Sinead pursed her lips. "We had probably better." She decided, knowing how he could get into trouble. Besides, she couldn't help but be curious about the rest of the house, and wondered what the rooms held.

They joined Dan, who said Nellie was changing again but would find them later, and set out to explore. Amy protested that she felt weird snooping around, but Dan didn't agree.

"Hey Jonah said to make ourselves at home. That's what we're doing!" He bounded to another door, only this one was locked. None of the others had been, but had only been bedrooms.

"Hmmm that's weird." He turned to Sinead. "Do you think you could pick this?"

"Dan!" Amy exclaimed, looking horrified. "It's locked for a reason!"

Sinead smirked. "Of course I can," She said airily, "But it's probably just Jonah's room or something. And who would want to see that?"

"I would. It's probably a mini house in itself." Dan protested, but followed the girls as they walked on.

They crossed the top of the two staircases, looking down as they did. You couldn't really see anything but a few people walking below, probably more hired help, but they went unnoticed, the top story being quiet.

"You could probably fit 20 Janus strongholds in here." Amy muttered.

Sinead agreed. "And probably all of them being flashy too. Or an entire one dedicated to "the Wiz." She added sarcastically.

Amy just laughed. "Jonah does have a bit of an ego." She admitted.

 _A 'bit'?_ Sinead wanted to ask, but her attention was drawn to the art in the room they had walked in, which was filled with originals by numerous painters, designers, and even sculptures. The whole room seemed to be Janus themed, with records by musical artists being featured. Surprisingly, nothing by Jonah or his mother Cora was displayed.

"Whoooaaa, check this out!" Dan exclaimed from up ahead of the long room.

The girls joined him to see that he was looking at a life-sized sculpture of a grand piano. It was solid, except for the keys, which looked to be made of some kind of transparent material. Was it crystal? It was amazing, whatever it was.

Dan stepped closer to it, ignoring his sister's warnings about breaking something. And sure enough, he lost his balance and fell on the keys, breaking off a piece that was surrounding them. Amy started freaking out, and even Sinead winced.

Dan frantically tried to put it back on, but it wasn't working. Then they heard a familiar voice behind them.

"Cuz's!" It was Jonah. They all whirled around guiltily, but Jonah must not have noticed the damage. He was approaching them with a huge, happy smile on his face. "It's so good to see you all again."

Sinead was surprised, first by him being so happy to see them, second by his voice. Although he still had the same laid-back tone, he didn't say "yo" or "word" right away. And then thirdly, by his looks. She had been expecting sagging pants and chains and for him to look like he had two years ago. But, besides small silver earrings in his ears, he wore no jewelry, and his face had matured, his smile now lighting up his face and eyes.

 _He's actually kind of attractive._ She mused

She caught her thoughts and tightened her lips, not returning his smile. Jonah was looking at Dan though, who wore a guilty expression.

"Um, I tripped, and fell, and well this broke..." He explained, holding up the piece. Jonah just shrugged it off though, giving Dan a fist bump.

"Hey, it's no biggie." He assured him. "I'll get someone to fix it."

He then turned to Amy, giving her a brief hug. "Hi Jonah." Amy was smiling at him. "We hope you don't mind us exploring a bit. Your house is really nice."

He waved it off, "Of course I don't. I told you guys to make yourselves at home."

Dan shot Amy a "see, I told you so" look, and she rolled her eyes at him.

Then it was Sinead's turn. She braced herself and tried to smile, but didn't quite accomplish it.

"Hey Sinead." He said politely, his eyes turning to her face. Then he did a double-take, glancing down at her and then back up so quickly she almost missed it. It threw her off for a minute, was he checking her out?

"Jonah." Was all she said, which brought his eyes to hers. He took in her annoyed expression and blinked, as if he didn't know what to make of it.

"Um, it's nice to see you?" He sounded confused, like he didn't understand why she was annoyed.

She let out a sigh, feeling Amy's hard gaze on her, and forced out. "It's great to see you too."

She was trying for sincerity but didn't think she managed it. He just smiled again - this time not so brightly - and turned back to Dan.

"Hey I don't know how much you've explored up here but I have some rooms you gotta check out." He said enthusiastically.

He led them to a room across the hall, which was narrow, but filled with arcade games from wall to wall. Dan's eyes widened as he took it all in. Jonah gestured to a small door at the end of the room.

"This leads to the other game room." He explained. He lead them through a huge room filled with video game consoles, a billiard table, and a few tables surrounded by benches. Behind the benches there were shelves with puzzles and board games.

They spent a few minutes in there, before Jonah finished the tour. Upstairs there was a small theatre room, a library, and two other rooms, which he skipped.

"Mine and my dad's bedrooms." He said. "My dad wouldn't be cool with me showing people, even family, and mine is a mess."

"You don't have a personal servant for that?" Sinead couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

He looked at her, smirking a little. "Yeah, but she only cleans on Saturdays."

She didn't know if he was joking or not, and decided to not comment further. He led them downstairs where he continued the tour, showing them the living area, another theatre room (this one a lot bigger), a studio-like room where he told them he did some practice recordings, with a large music room attached to it filled with all kinds of instruments, a formal dining room, informal dining room and kitchen, then finished with a den at the back of the house.

"This is normally where we take guests after dinner." He said. The room was filled with couches, chairs, end tables, and looked like a normal den. There was a fireplace in it, and surprisingly no instruments. Large glass doors and windows showed the back of the house, where Sinead spotted a patio, palm trees, and a huge swimming pool.

"Sweet," a voice from the entryway said. It was Nellie, her eyes large and round, looking at everything.

"You have a nice pad here dude." She told Jonah. "I looked around on my own upstairs and then tracked you guys here. I can't wait to check out the pool."

Jonah laughed at her excitement, "Hey there will be plenty of time for all of that." He promised. "I figured everyone would be hungry so I made dinner reservations for tonight in Beverly Hills. I have a few places I want ya to see while you're here, but I mainly want to relax and hang with my fam."

"Dinner in Beverly Hills?" Nellie sounded like she was in paradise. "I bet there is some amaaazing food here."

Jonah glanced over at the clock. "The Holts should be pulling in any minute, then we can go chow."

Sinead was still amazed at Jonah's change in vocabulary, but then he used words like "fam" and "chow" and she didn't know what to think.

She looked over at him, "So, the tour is over?"

"Yeah," Jonah shrugged. "We could all sit here though. Catch up and everything."

Everyone agreed and sat down, except for Sinead. "I think I'll just go back upstairs." She said, keeping her voice light.

Amy looked up at her, but Sinead ignored her, studying a clock on the wall instead. "I need to make a phone call." She said, trying to make it sound like it was pressing.

Jonah shrugged again. "Ok, see ya." He turned to the others, dismissing Sinead, and she felt her annoyance return.

 _Why are you annoyed?_ Her subconscious said. _You don't want to spend time with him, remember?_

She returned upstairs and picked up her phone. She hated lying, so she called her brother Ned to see when he and Ted would be arriving.

"Hey sis." Ned went right to the point. "What's up?"

"Just letting you know that I got here." She responded. "Jonah showed us around and now we're settling in. When will you and Ted get here?"

"Our flight lands around 10." He answered, "We leave really early. Heard it's a couple of hours there though from the airport so we should be there around noon. How is everything there?"

"Wizard style." She answered, and her brother laughed. "I should have known but it's a lot bigger than I expected. The pool is huge."

Ned sighed. "Sounds nice. I guess I'll see you soon." He wasn't much for phone conversations.

She said goodbye and ended the call, looking around the room again. She decided to unpack as slowly as she could before returning to the den, knowing that Amy would be looking for her if she wasn't back soon.

She told herself to relax and just try to enjoy this trip. She needed the break after all, and with a house this big she surely could avoid her cousins, especially the one that was annoying her the most right now.


	3. Chapter 3

**So I had to do a lot of research for some of the details in this chapter. If I got some of them wrong, please don't judge me to harshly as I've never been to South California. Sacramento is as close as I've gotten!**

* * *

 **-Chapter 3-**

Sinead awoke to sunlight streaming through the curtains of the room. Blinking, she reached over and grabbed her phone for the time. _11:00_ , her screen blared at her. Peering over her covers she saw that Amy was still asleep too.

 _It's no wonder though. We were out pretty late last night._

They had gone out to Fleming's, a popular and fancy restaurant in Beverly Hills, and hadn't returned to the mansion until after one in the morning.

The Holt's had arrived and went with them to eat, immediately clicking with Dan and Amy, having kept in contact with them since the clue hunt. Sinead had been quiet at first, feeling it out, then the subject had turned to sports.

Although she definitely wasn't as athletic as her Tomas cousins, she loved lacrosse and had played it for several years. She got caught up in a long conversation with all three of them about that sport and other outdoor activities, leaving the rest of the group to talk to Jonah.

She hadn't spoken to the star all night, except for when he had asked her a direct question about her brother's arrival. She had answered curtly, turning back to Madison as soon as she gave the answer, and he hadn't said anything else to her. The others didn't seem to notice anything amiss, and Sinead tried to keep it that way. She knew why _she_ didn't like Jonah but knew her cousins probably wouldn't understand.

Now, lying here and starving, she wished she had packed some snacks in her bag. She was pretty outgoing by nature, but she felt out of place here and didn't really want to wander around by herself.

Hunger finally won out though, and she decided to shower and get dressed and then just go downstairs and see if anyone else was up. By then her brothers would almost be here and she would feel better.

She got ready in about thirty minutes, and was about to leave the room when Amy woke up.

"Good morning."

Amy groaned in response, blinking at Sinead through bleary eyes. "I can't believe I slept that much."

"We were out pretty late." Sinead stated, "Besides, you're allowed to sleep in every once in awhile. I'm about to go find something to eat though, do you want me to bring anything up?"

"No it's ok." Amy was already getting out of bed and reaching for her clothes. "I want to be downstairs when the others get here."

Sinead nodded and left. She got to the quiet hallway, making it to the top of the stairs before she heard Dan's voice from the other end of the house. She rolled her eyes, it sounded like he was playing games and she wondered if he had even slept last night, excited about the house and about seeing his girlfriend.

She decided to detour and made her way to the game room. She spotted Dan standing in front of the consoles at the back of the room, but also Jonah and Hamilton too. Deciding to back out quietly she stepping back, but Hamilton spotted her.

"Sinead come here, I need someone on my team!" He hollered, causing the other boys to turn.

She couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm but said, "I'm starving, on my way to go get something to eat."

Dan took away that excuse though, pointing to a load of snacks sitting on the table. "There's plenty of stuff right here. Tons of breakfast stuff that's healthy too, like you like to eat."

She eyed the pile and saw that he was right. Accepting that she was stuck here for the moment, she walked over to the food and grabbed a granola bar then busied herself with eating it.

"So you're not going to help me?" Hamilton pouted. "Jonah and Dan are demolishing me at this game. I have the computer for my partner and he sucks."

Sinead glanced over at her cousin, who was looking at her with extremely sad eyes. Sighing, she threw her wrapper back on the table and joined them. "What game is it?" She frowned at the screen; it looked like some shooting game. Dan rattled off a name that she didn't recognize, but she just shrugged and decided to try her best. She wasn't that good though, video games not being her thing and they still lost in the end.

"Sorry Ham," She said, calling him by his nickname.

"It's ok", Hamilton waved off her apology. "It was more fun with you playing anyways."

Sinead looked at her phone for the time. 15 minutes until everyone else got here. Dan noticed her looking and said that he was going to go downstairs to wait, seeming super excited about seeing Natalie. Sinead couldn't blame him, although she didn't have a boyfriend or anything, she knew that the two hardly got to see each other (though it seemed like they were constantly on the phone).

They all followed Dan downstairs and saw that the rest of the girls were already sitting down on the couches except for Amy, who was seated at the piano and playing softly. But she halted when they entered, a shy look crossing her face as she caught sight of Jonah.

"Why did ya stop?" Jonah enquired. "Sounds great cuz."

Amy blushed and came over to them, "You can play way better than I can." She stated.

"True, but I'm a Janus. Don't knock your talent." He advised. Surprisingly he didn't sound arrogant, just factual, but it still irked Sinead.

"Glad to know that you're not suffering from inferiority complex." She snapped at him, sitting down and busying herself with adjusting her clothes.

The room went quiet, an awkward silence settling at Sinead's tone and Jonah's confused expression, before Madison said, "Sooooo what are the plans today?"

"Um," Jonah pulled his gaze away from Sinead and seemed to be searching his brain, "Well I was gonna see what everyone was feeling up too. I don't have specific plans for specific days. I was thinkin' we could all plan when everyone got here."

"We definitely have to go swimming." Nellie stated. "And shopping."

Dan grimaced. "You forget that Natalie is coming. Shopping is probably in her daily plans." He looked miserable at this concept, ducking down in his seat, and everyone chuckled.

"There's a lot of shopping and things to do here, and we got Santa Monica which is only about 30 minutes out." Jonah said. "There's the beach there, the pier, mountains," He gestured towards the Holts, and then threw a look at Sinead, "I know a lot of ya like outdoor stuff. Trust me, we won't be bored, and I know everyone has prob' been busy this year so we have time to relax too."

Amy looked at him sympathetically. "I think it's really nice of you to invite us out here Jonah, but you are probably the busiest out of us all. If you want to just show us around and then relax yourself, we can make do."

Everyone nodded and agreed, but Jonah shook his head, "No, I really want to spend time with you guys." He said quickly, and Sinead thought that she saw something flash across his face before his expression returned back to being earnest. "I really do, you all are great. And it will be relaxing to just hang and leave the celebrity status behind for a while."

It looked like Nellie was going to say something to this, but then the door opened; the rest of the clan had arrived.

* * *

A half-hour later, after all of the greetings and small talk were over with (and a lot of mushiness between Natalie and Dan), the cousins all settled in to discuss plans.

Sinead found herself stuck on a loveseat with the two lovebirds (who were glued to each other), but she actually thought it was cute. She turned her attention away from them though to give them a little privacy. They were talking in low tones to each other and pretty much ignoring the rest of the group.

"So I'm all for staying here today." Madison was saying in response to Jonah's question.

Ian nodded, "I would like to settle in myself after such a long flight from England." He complained.

Sinead had noticed that since Ian had arrived Amy was even more quiet than normal, and made a mental note to ask her later if she was ok.

She never got the chance though. After their planning session she joined Nellie to help her with her clothes (for the 20th time), and when she returned to the room she was sharing with Amy the other girl wasn't there.

Sinead took a moment to freshen up before checking her online class, hoping that her professor had posted their final grade. Nothing yet, but Sinead knew that this professor was slow at grading and hadn't been expecting anything. She felt a wave of homesickness and decided to call her friend Julie back home, who was one of the only people who knew where she was going for their break.

Julie answered almost right away. "Sinead! I already miss you!" She exclaimed.

Sinead felt herself smile at her friend's enthusiasm. "Hey Julie how are you?"

"Same boring stuff going on. I want to know what's going on with you! How is Beverly Hills? Have you gotten to see Jonah yet? Is he as hot in person as he is on T.V.?"

Sinead grimaced, then forced herself to reply in a normal tone. "Beverly Hills is beautiful; we are right by the ocean. We went out to dinner last night and you would have loved it. The food was amazing! And yes I've seen Jonah; he gave us a tour of the house, no MANSION yesterday. You would be in heaven if you were here."

"Ugh I'm so jealous! But you didn't answer the most important question! I bet he's really attractive."

Sinead bit her lip, knowing that her friend would be able to tell if she was lying. "He's attractive enough, not really my type though."

"You're so lucky." Julie moaned. "I would be dying if I were there. Has he sang or performed or anything for you all?"

"No, I think he just wants to take a break from everything. Besides, it's not like that at all here. He's just a distant relative, nothing special."

Julie went quiet, then said tentatively. "You don't like him very much do you? Did something happen?"

Sinead sighed. "No, I'm just feeling a little grumpy. He's been ok." Then she added, wanting to change topics, "I checked online but our grade still isn't posted. What do you think we will get?"

It worked, and the conversation turned to the project and their schoolmates, and then to Julie's trip to Australia, which she was packing for currently. Sinead finally ended the call, glad that she got to touch base with her friend.

* * *

She joined the others later for dinner, then they all retreated to the pool. Sinead was still not comfortable enough to reveal her scarred arms to everyone (although they all knew about them), so she opted to sit on a lounger and just watch her cousin's goof off.

She laughed at the Holts and their competitiveness, and also at Dan and all of his pranks. Nellie moaned about the sun setting and not being able to work on her tan, but she stopped once she spotted the hot tub and hadn't left it since. This went on for several hours before they all ended up in the loungers around Sinead.

Amy sat down at the end of hers, and Sinead remembered how her cousin had acted earlier around Ian. But she seemed fine now, so maybe she had just felt awkward at first, given her history with the British boy.

"So…" Jonah trailed as the conversation waned, "I was wondering if you guys wanna help me with something."

He looked uncomfortable, but determined at the same time.

"Like with a dance or something? I have some moves I could show you!" Dan offered.

Natalie rolled her eyes at him, but said fondly, "I'm sure you do dear."

Dan started to protest at her patronizing tone, but Jonah was smiling at his younger cousin.

"Sure thing, maybe later." He said. "But this is actually a song. I wanna try something different and am having trouble with the lyrics. Maybe you all could help me?"

"Different?" Sinead was skeptical, "Like different from your ordinary meaningless rap songs?"

She heard one of her brothers (it sounded like Ned) say, "Sinead" in a warning tone, but Jonah was already responding.

"Meaningless?" He questioned, seeming to take offense at her words. "No offense _cuz_ , but you don't even pay enough attention apparently to know that I've switched genres. And my songs aren't meaningless, I write all of 'em myself."

"Wow, that's cool." Reagan sounded impressed, and (probably wanting to ease the tension she could sense rising) added in a bright tone, "Sure, we would love to help you."

Sinead just raised her eyebrows at Jonah, "You wouldn't know a good song if it hit you in the face. And you write them yourself?" She said doubtfully. "Don't you have people to do that for you?"

Jonah's voice hardened, and Sinead almost regretted her harsh words to him.

"I have no idea what I've done to you Sinead, but you've been rude ever since you've got here. If you don't like me, fine, but insulting my music is a low blow."

He didn't wait for her reply but got up, throwing over his shoulder, "I'm gonna grab the lyrics and bring them back out here."

Sinead tightened her jaw and tried to ignore her cousins and brothers, who were all staring at her in shock.

"Seriously Sinead, what's wrong?" Ted asked, mystified. "Jonah's been really cool."

"I don't want to talk about it." She said, "I'll try to keep my mouth shut but I don't have to kiss up to him like the rest of you are."

They all protested at this, and Sinead knew that she was being unfair. Sighing, she held up her hands.

"I'm sorry, you guys didn't deserve that."

"Well Jonah doesn't deserve it either," Ted said firmly. Her triplet brothers were usually the only ones to stand up her, but she was stubborn and wasn't about to admit that they may be right.

Jonah returned shortly, and passed the lyrics around, explaining the song and its meaning. Just like Sinead expected, the others launched into praise, assuring him that it was great. When Amy handed her the sheet, she passed it on to Nellie without looking at it.

Jonah, whose face had lost any trace of anger it held earlier, eyed Sinead.

"You aren't even gonna look at it?" He sounded perplexed, like he still didn't get it.

Sinead shook her head. "I really don't think you want my opinion." She said, trying to keep her tone nice and even.

Jonah frowned, "But..." he started to protest, but Ted cut in.

"You should listen to her and just skip it." He told Jonah, exchanging a knowing glance with his brother.

Jonah's gaze held Sinead's, ignoring Ted's words.

"I really want your opinion too." He said firmly. "Your real one." He said hastily as she opened her mouth. She snapped it closed, staring at him.

"My real one?"

"Yes." His eyes bore into hers. "No sarcasm. Not what you think based on whatever your opinion of me is, an opinion that I would call biased, since I haven't done anything to deserve your comments."

She started to protest but he held his hands up.

"You're supposedly a genius Sinead." He said. "And I think you know a lot more about music than ya let on. Now just forget about who wrote it a sec and give it a chance."

She was speechless, staring at him as he started back at her, a challenge in his eyes. And she never backed down from challenges.

Letting out a breath she looked away and crossed her arms, uncomfortable with him staring at her like he could look see right through her.

She thought a moment about his words and turned to Nellie. "Ok. Give me the lyrics when you're done."

The older girl did so, and Sinead busied herself with reading over the lyrics that she already had decided to hate, still feeling Jonah's eyes boring on her. She could hear the others talking quietly, probably about her, but she shut them out.

She tried to forget that Jonah had written them, and instead focused on the style and the context. She frowned; she could actually see where he was coming from with the lyrics. Sinead didn't know a lot about the genre of hip-hop (or whatever he had decided to start doing now), but the lyrics were more like poetry, the song coming from a perspective of someone on the outside looking in on another person's relationship, and warning them. She wasn't positive though, and the lyrics weren't like any of his songs she had heard. There was a serious message here.

"This is different." She furrowed her brows. "So is this person just a good friend of the girl in the relationship or something more? I'm a logical person so I like things to make sense, but I can't tell really the perspective or what this person is feeling. If you want the person hearing the song to feel the emotions or understand the seriousness of the message you might want a different attitude portrayed."

He was still staring as she looked up and met his dark eyes, "What makes you think I want emotion in my songs, or that there is a serious message? I'm just a singer and musician who wouldn't 'know a good song if it hit me in the face'." He quoted back to her.

She swallowed hard, avoiding his gaze, not willing to admit that she may have been wrong about his songwriting skills. "That's my opinion. Take it how you want to."

She stood up abruptly, handing the paper back to him. "I'm going inside."

"Of course you are." She heard him mutter, but pretended that she didn't.

She didn't say anything to the others as she passed, but Hamilton called out a cheery 'good night', either not catching on to her mood or choosing to ignore it.

"Goodnight." She tried to match his tone but it came out wrong. She hastily made it to her room and shut the door behind her, hoping that it would be a while before Amy returned.

She didn't know what was wrong with her, snapping at Jonah like that. Sure, she didn't like him and probably never really would, but even she was surprised at how mean she was being to him. It was like she couldn't help the anger and sarcasm that came out of her mouth whenever he was near her. And that ego of his was driving her crazy. She closed her eyes as she sat on the bed and tried to sort out her thoughts.

She was a rash person sometimes, but she also liked to be alone in order to think, and now her mind went back to the interviews and music that she was basing her opinion of Jonah off of. She had been a little curious about him after the clue hunt, never realizing before then that she was related to someone so famous, and when she saw him on T.V. a couple of times had stopped to watch. She even had caught some of his songs that he sang at a couple of award shows. The problem was that Jonah - even after the clue hunt - had come across as arrogant in every single interview, talking about girls and cars like he was a god or something and was owed the very best. She knew that she had her share of faults as well and could judge too harshly, but she couldn't let those words or images escape her. So what if he was being nice to them all for the moment? He apparently had ulterior motives.

Another thing that bothered her (that bothered her the most actually) was her reaction to him. Coming here Sinead knew that she would be around him every day, but figured that she could just ignore him. However (she hated to admit it) she hadn't realized how attractive Jonah had become. He had a nice body, face, smile, and even eyes. Sinead hadn't noticed until his gaze had turned on hers that evening, but his eyes became darker when he was angry or serious, instead of the light chocolate color they normally were. She almost had become speechless earlier when they had bored into hers. She shook herself then. How had she gotten on the subject of his eyes?

 _They're just eyes._ She thought, _Get a grip._

Julie would freak out if she could read her thoughts now. Sinead tried to rationalize her thinking.

 _So, he's attractive and has been 'acting' nice. So what? Go back to ignoring him and keep your mouth closed, and treat him the same as everyone else._

Settling this in her mind, she determinedly reached for her laptop to quickly check on her grade again, then planned on pretending to be asleep when Amy came in, just in case she wanted to lecture Sinead too.

* * *

 **Finally figured out how to insert breaks...YES!**

 **It's annoying when authors beg for reviews so I won't... *puppy dog eyes***


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to everyone who is reading and has reviewed so far! You guys are what motivates me to write more!**

* * *

 **-Chapter 4-**

The next morning found Sinead in a better mood. Even Dan (who had been wrapped up in Natalie since the British girl had arrived) noticed, eyeing her cautiously at breakfast.

"Why are you so happy?" He asked suspiciously, through a mouthful of pancakes.

Natalie sniffed, "Daniel, it is impolite to talk with food in your mouth."

He looked back at her. "Hey we weren't all raised in a castle like you princess." He said. But his tone was teasing, instead of him taking offense to her comment.

She just scoffed and returned to her plate. Ian looked like he wanted to say something too, but glanced over at his sister and seemed to change his mind.

Sinead shrugged, "Can't I be in a good mood? We are going to be outside most of the day, and I get to go hiking, right?" She looked over at Jonah pleasantly, who hadn't said much since he had joined them at the table.

He blinked at Sinead, like he wasn't sure if she was directing that question at him, but Madison jumped in.

"I love hiking!" She said excitedly, "I can't wait to go." She turned to Reagan, "Didn't you say that you forgot your shoes though?"

"Yeah." Her sister responded glumly, turning to Jonah also, "We can stop by a shoe store right?"

Jonah nodded, "Of course, whatever you wanna do. I'll have the driver drop us off by the pier but there are plenty of stores there, or we can stop on the way."

He directed the next bit to the entire group. "Hiking, the pier, shopping, feel free to do whatever. We can go back another day if there's still things you wanna do but didn't have time for."

Sinead watched Nellie and Natalie exchange a happy glance, and figured that they must have discussed shopping sometime in the course of the last day. Sinead liked shopping, but after all of her confusing thoughts last night she really wanted to get out and do something more active to take her mind off it all.

She turned to Hamilton, "Are you going hiking with us or are you going to do something else?"

He shrugged, "Hiking sounds good to me, although I love watersports too."

Ian jumped in, actually sounding interested in the conversation for a change "Watersports? Is there perhaps something, er, mild to do out on the water?"

"There's paddle boating, although you'll get wet," Jonah said, "Or there's a cruise ship that makes rounds on the water that has entertainment on it and dinner."

Ian nodded thoughtfully, and shut down again. Sinead saw Amy look over at him with concern, but she didn't say anything.

Sinead looked at her brothers next. "Do you guys want to go hiking too?" She inquired, knowing that they probably would decline. They didn't love the outdoors like she did and normally passed when she invited them to do things with her. She did miss them a lot though. It felt like ages since she had seen them and suddenly she wasn't sure if she should keep her plans to go hiking or not.

"I'm game." Ned replied, but Ted hesitated.

"I might just look around first," He said, but as if knowing her train of thought, he added, "I definitely want to spend time with you today though."

"Aww, a sibling moment!" Natalie gushed at them, causing Sinead and her brothers to exchange eye rolls.

"Hey, I haven't seen them in months. You should understand." She threw the girl a pointed look, inclining her head towards Dan.

Natalie agreed, "I do. I'm actually torn right now between going shopping and hanging out with Dan."

Dan frowned at her. "I'm going shopping with you." He stated, causing her to stare at him in amazement.

"You are?" She asked.

"Yeah," Dan shrugged, "I figured we could shop a few hours and then go check out the rides by the pier." He threw her a puppy-dog look. Natalie sighed, but beamed at him, not being able to hide the happiness on her face.

"I might tag along with you guys and Nellie, if that's ok." Amy spoke up. She turned to Jonah, "That leaves you, what will you do?" She asked him.

Jonah looked torn, "I don't know, I've been down there so many times. I guess I'll just wing it with whoever."

Sinead didn't take him to be an outdoors person (he had probably never been on a hike in his life), so she just turned back to the other end of the table where the Holt girls were already challenging each other on who could complete the climb first. She looked over at Ned and hoped that he wouldn't get any of his headaches during the climb _or_ on this trip, but knew that he got them pretty often so it probably would be inevitable. He met her gaze and threw her a grin, seeming unfazed for now, so she let herself relax.

The set off and were soon driving through Santa Monica after a brief stop for Reagan's shoes. It was beautiful, and the weather was perfect, the sun warming Sinead's skin through the skylight of the limo.

 _This is heaven._ She thought, basking it all in. _Just keep this up and you'll have a great vacation._

Jonah turned to all of them, interrupting her personal pep talk. "The mountains are a good 20 minute drive away." He stated, "I'll ride with ya over there, and then give you the driver's number so you can call 'em when you're ready to come back to this area."

They agreed, and after dropping the others off set out for the mountain range. Sinead was so excited about getting to spend time with the Holts (who were her favorite cousins by far after Amy and Dan) and her brother, that she barely could keep it contained.

Hamilton, who had decided to go with them after all, noticed. "You are really excited about this hike aren't you?" He asked with a chuckle.

Now everyone's attention was on her and she thought fast, not wanting to reveal her real reason for her excitement and instead of going with a general, "Yeah, I love the outdoors remember?"

Ned eyed her, "Are you ok Sinead? I meant to ask you about school and stuff but didn't want to stress you out."

Sometimes she hated the 'triplet bond' that she had with her brothers. They could read her too well.

"My final project was a little stressful," she admitted, "But it's over with now and I'm ready to forget all about it."

Jonah, who had been looking out the window and not really joining in the conversation, turned to her. "What project?" He sounded interested, but Sinead doubted he actually cared that much.

"Just designing a software system from scratch." She said breezily, like it was no big deal. "I worked with a team though so it wasn't that bad."

Jonah and the Holts looked impressed, but Sinead waved it off. "I really would rather not think about it." The car had pulled up to the mountain range, so the others had no choice but to drop the subject. They got out, and Sinead inhaled deeply, already feeling adrenaline rush through her. She was surprised when Jonah got out with them and shot him a panicked look. He hadn't decided to hike with them had he? He wasn't exactly wearing the right shoes for climbing.

He noticed her gaze and smirked, which infuriated her. "What?" He asked her. "Afraid to be around me for too long?"

Sinead immediately reacted, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come on guys." Hamilton muttered, "Not another argument."

They ignored him, sizing each other up, Jonah still smirking and Sinead's nostrils flaring.

"I think that you kinda like me but don't wanna admit it." Jonah stated. "That's why you don't wanna be around me. And you liked my song last night but couldn't admit that either."

Sinead felt her mouth drop open at his smug tone. "Well you're wrong on both counts! I don't want to be around you because you're a conceited jerk!"

At that, she whirled around, heading blindly towards the mountains. She heard someone jogging up behind her after a minute but didn't pause.

"Hey, wait up."

It was Madison. Sinead slowed but didn't turn until the girl was beside her.

"Geez you're pretty fast." She sounded impressed, and added "Jonah isn't staying. I think he just said that to get a rise out of you. Ham, Ned, and Reagan can catch up to us though."

They slowed into a brisk walk, Sinead still fuming from her argument with Jonah. Madison didn't bring it up though, instead commenting on her hair.

"I should have put it up." She moaned. Her long, blonde hair was pretty, but Sinead sympathized with her. "Here, I can braid the top where it won't fall out." She volunteered.

Madison's gaze lit up, "Really? That would be great."

The two girls paused as Sinead fixed it for her, and by then the others had caught up.

"Nice, I didn't know you could do hair. I should have guessed though, you're an awesome dresser." Reagan commented.

Sinead was pleased, all annoyance ebbing away. "Thanks!" She said.

Sinead was a preppy dresser, and although she didn't follow trends or care what other people thought, she was girly enough to enjoy receiving compliments, especially when she knew that they were sincere. She exchanged smiles with Madison and Reagan.

"If we are done with this girl moment," Ned said dryly, "Let's get going."

They glared at him in mock annoyance but all started racing up the mountain. Hamilton won in the end of course, but Sinead could feel the adrenaline the entire climb and her competitive streak loved it. The spent the whole morning hiking, and were back to the parking lot before Sinead remembered lunch.

"Man it will probably be at least an hour before we get to eat." She complained.

Ned surprised her though, pulling something out of his backpack. "Jonah sent this with us, I'm glad he thought of it." He gave his sister a pointed look, and she pursed her lips but didn't say anything, taking some of the food without a retort.

He sighed, but she just looked over at a group of trees near where they were standing and saw that beyond them was a small clearing.

"We could eat over there." She suggested, and the others followed her. They ate quickly and then called the driver, Sinead and Ned being tired and ready to go back. The Holts claimed that they were ok, but were still interested in doing water sports.

Sinead felt over her energetic spurt and was ready to find somewhere to relax but didn't chime in.

The driver returned without Jonah, and they soon made it back to the pier. The sun was high in the sky, and it looked really busy, people pushing past each other on their way to and from the beach, and the noise levels were high. Sinead, who hated crowds, leaned over to Ned.

"Do you think there is anywhere quiet around here?"

The driver, who had heard her question, spoke up. "There is a small cafe that Jonah likes to hide out in. He normally goes in disguise, but it's usually pretty empty."

They got directions there and thanked him, splitting up with the Holts. Sinead turned to Ned as soon as they were out of earshot.

"How is your head?" She asked.

Ned answered, "I feel great Sinead, really."

She studied him to see if he was lying, but he looked sincere. She nodded and they found the cafe the driver was talking about. It wasn't very busy (being off of the main pier a ways), and Sinead walked towards the back where it extended a little to find a seat.

She was surprised to see Amy and Jonah there, sitting closely together at a table and looking to be in a deep discussion. She halted abruptly, which made Ned run into her.

"Sorry," She muttered to him, and her cousins looked up from their table.

"Sinead, Ned!" Amy smiled at them. "Come sit down."

She reluctantly followed Ned to the table, avoiding looking at Jonah (since the last time she had seen him she had called him names and flounced off).

 _What's it about him that makes me retreat all of the time? Toughen up!_

There were only three chairs at the table, and she looked around for another one to pull up, but Jonah stood. "I'm heading out anyways; I need to make a phone call."

Sinead looked at him now, but couldn't read anything in his face as he wasn't looking at her.

"Thanks." She said hesitantly, but he was turning to Amy, talking as if Sinead wasn't there.

"We can talk more another time." He said to Amy and then looked at Ned, "Later Ned." He nodded at him - still ignoring Sinead - and exited the cafe.

Sinead acted like it didn't bother her, keeping her expression neutral as she sat down.

Amy sighed, "Do I want to know?"

Sinead answered "No," just as Ned was saying, "Jonah accused Sinead of actually liking him but trying to cover it up so Sinead got mad and called him a jerk. Nothing surprising."

Sinead groaned. "Let's talk about something else." She said, and the other two just shook their heads at her before talking about the day's activities.

Amy had apparently gone shopping with the others but got tired of it and went to a bookstore, where she ran into Jonah.

"We ended up heading here, since Jonah was trying to hide out from the fans and the crowds were making me uncomfortable."

Sinead knew that feeling. "Yeah the limo driver told us about this place." She leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes, the hike catching up to her.

"I'm tired too." Ned said, reading her body language, "That was fun but man the Holts are competitive."

Amy laughed, "I wish I were. I probably wouldn't have lasted an hour with them."

They feel into an easy silence, before Amy said, "Oh yeah Sinead; Nellie, Natalie, and I all discussed going out in Beverly Hills tomorrow to do shopping and pedicures and stuff, an entire girls day before we start doing a lot of other activities. It's not really my thing and I don't know if Madison and Reagan would want to but I know that you like that stuff."

Sinead shrugged, "I'm up for it." She said, thinking that if they could find a massage place it would sound even better. "Reagan and Madison went with Hamilton to see if the Kayaking place was open, but I'm sure they would be up for it too."

She frowned, remembering the other member of the group that she hadn't seen all day. "Where did Ian end up?"

She thought Amy's face froze at the mention of his name, but if it did she recovered quickly. "I'm not sure." She said, "I haven't seen him since the limo this morning."

 _Yep, something was wrong._ Sinead thought. Amy's tone had gone neutral, but sounded a little too casual. She looked at her cousin but Amy inclined her head slightly towards Ned, who had been looking at his phone the entire time. Sinead caught on that Amy would tell her when they were alone later, and nodded at her.

Ned looked up, "Did I miss something?"

"Girl stuff." Amy said quickly, and Ned went back to his phone, stating that he definitely was fine not knowing.

They ended up meeting up with the others down by the pier when they were done, and spent the rest of the day walking around by the shore and riding the rides.

Sinead had a great time, laughing so hard at times that she couldn't breathe (which she needed), and ended up learning a lot more about her cousins.

 _They aren't so bad_. She mused.

Ian and Natalie could be snobby, but Natalie mellowed out a little when she was with Dan, even sharing cotton 'sugar' (as she haughtily called it) with him. Ian was really quiet but that was fine with Sinead, who also had a hard time handling the British boy's ego at times. The Holts were great and of course she enjoyed catching up with her brothers, who got as busy as she did with their own lives.

It was later that evening before Jonah rejoined them. Sinead had been having such a great time that she didn't even react to seeing him show up at the restaurant they were seated at.

"Sorry guys. Didn't mean to be gone so long."

Sinead had a sarcastic remark on the tip of her tongue, but changed her mind when she saw his expression. He looked a little stressed out.

"Oh it's fine; no big deal." Nellie assured him. "Was that your manager or something?"

"My dad, who is basically the same thing." Jonah said tiredly, "Just tour stuff, since that's where I'll be headin' after this vacation."

"How exciting!" Madison said, but Jonah just looked bleakly at his plate.

"Yeah…" He muttered quietly. Sinead observed him, being able to quickly figure out people's feelings and emotions. Although she still couldn't stand him, she felt a little sorry for him, thinking that being so famous had to be exhausting. She looked back to the menu though, not wanting anyone to catch her staring.

The evening concluded pleasantly, with Reagan and Madison agreeing to go shopping the next day and all of them staying up that night and playing video games at the mansion. Sinead and Jonah pretty much avoided each other, but she figured that it was better this way.

Sinead's only regret was that she didn't get to have the conversation with Amy, due to the other girl going upstairs right in the middle of a game, and then when Sinead finally went up at 2am she found her cousin asleep.

Something was definitely wrong, and Sinead vowed that she wouldn't let tomorrow pass before finding out what and trying to help.

* * *

 **Confession: So I kind of wrote chapter six before I wrote this one and the next so this one was a filler. I hope it wasn't too obvious. *Hides face***


	5. Chapter 5

**So I know that I** _ **just**_ **uploaded chapter 4 but chapter 6 is one of my favorite chapters so far and the sooner I upload chapter 5 the sooner we will get to it! Hehe :)**

* * *

 **-Chapter 5-**

"What about this color?" This came from Natalie, who was holding up another shirt.

"It looks so good on you!" Madison exclaimed, but Nellie was frowning.

"It washes you out a little. And you have a tan, so I'm going to say no."

Sinead glanced over at Natalie, "Aren't you supposed to be a fashion expert or something?"

Natalie grimaced, "Yes, but I love this shirt, and it's only in this color in my size." She let out a long-suffering sigh. "American stores are horrid."

Amy, who really hadn't been paying any attention, put her two cents in. "You have plenty of clothes Natalie, why does it matter?" Her tone was grumpy, and all of the girls eyed her cautiously. She had been like that all morning - spacing out, and when she did speak she was on-edge.

Sinead bit her lip, she really needed to draw Amy away from the other girls and talk to her. Then she looked out the window and spotted a sign across the way that gave her an idea.

"Hey Amy, is that a bookstore?" She pointed. Surely that would get her.

Amy didn't even glance up from her nails. "Yeah I saw it when we walked in here."

"Will you walk over there with me?" Sinead pressed, not deterred by her friend's lack of enthusiasm. "Please, I'm trying to find this certain book..."

Amy looked up at her suspiciously, but nodded. "Why not?"

Sinead, ignoring her tone, grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the other girls. She could see Nellie's expression as they left and it looked concerned; when she caught Sinead's eye she gave her a look that said _'Please find out what's going on_ '. Sinead gave her a slight nod, she would try her best.

They went in the bookstore, which had a little cafe inside of it.

"Let's get a drink." Sinead said.

Amy followed her over to the counter, "I thought that you wanted to look at books?"

Sinead rolled her eyes, "I think you know why I dragged you over here. It's time for our talk."

Amy didn't say anything, but once they got their drinks and sat down, she took a deep breath and looked over at her redheaded friend.

"Ok, so it's two things really. And you have to promise me you won't repeat any part of this conversation to _anyone_."

"You know I won't." Sinead said firmly.

Letting out a deep breath, Amy said. "It's the Vespers."

 _The Vespers._

Sinead froze at the name and shot a shocked look over at her cousin. "What happened?"

"Oh, it's nothing like that." Amy's eyes widened, as if realizing how her words could be taken. "We still haven't heard any more from them. But it's been four years Sinead. Who knows what they've been planning all of this time?" She bit her lip. "I love how we are all hanging out and it's so nice that we're getting along so well, but I keep looking around and thinking that one move from the Vespers could destroy it all."

"Amy." Sinead leaned over and gently placed her hand on her cousin's, but made sure that her voice was firm. "We've been over this before. Every branch has been training extra since the Clue Hunt and the branch leaders have periodical meetings all of the time. Worrying about it is pointless."

Her friend let out a sigh. "I know. I need to stop and just enjoy spending time with everyone. It's hard though."

Sinead frowned. She supposed that she should be more worried. While she was training for a Vesper attack along with everyone else, her focus was and had been on her brothers the last couple of years. It was hard to really see the Vespers as a threat when her biggest worries lay elsewhere.

"Well I'm here if you need another pep talk." She said, trying to sound supportive. "Now what's the other thing? I know it's more than the Vespers with the way you've been acting."

"It's stupid, really." Amy hesitated, but Sinead interjected, "It's not stupid if it's bothering you."

Amy looked down at her tea, "Ok, so you know how I haven't seen Ian in a while?"

Sinead nodded, "Yeah, a lot of us have lost contact the last couple of years."

"Well it's thrown me off a bit, seeing him again."

She paused, and Sinead waited, not sure where this conversation was headed.

Amy looked up suddenly, and blurted out, "I think I still like him Sinead."

Sinead was surprised, but tried to keep her face neutral. "Ok and does he know? Have you talked to him?"

"No way, I can't talk to him about that!" Amy's face took on a panicked look. "He would laugh in my face. Or it would get awkward and then I would have to be around him for the next two weeks."

She shook her head resolutely. "I can't." She repeated in a softer voice, looking up at Sinead pleadingly, as if wanting her to understand.

Sinead nodded slowly. She was more upfront than her cousin, but when it came to feelings she felt a little more like Amy did. Giving another person the power to hurt her was something that she shied away from.

And she could see Amy's dilemma. She thought of Ian and how quiet he had been the whole trip. Normally he would be complaining about everything and talking about how his country was so much better than America.

"I understand." Sinead said. "It's hard to put yourself out there like that. And Ian's been so different on this trip."

"I've noticed." Amy agreed, "But I'm not sure what's going on, and I'm not close enough to him to ask."

Sinead looked out the window, a troubling thought hitting her. "So are you mad at yourself? That you have feelings for him?" She wondered why she was even asking.

Amy looked thoughtful. "Not really. I don't think it's wrong to admit that you have feelings for someone." She looked pointedly at her cousin.

Sinead met her gaze, "What do you mean? I'm upfront about things, you know that."

"With everything but your own feelings and emotions." Amy retorted, but then threw Sinead a guilty look

"Sorry," She muttered, "I didn't mean to say that. But back to your question, am I upset at myself? Maybe a little, but more so that I feel like I can't talk to him about it. I think about it, but then I look at him and my courage is shot."

Both girls were quiet for a few moments, until Amy spoke up. "But enough about me, I want to know what's going on with you."

Sinead started, "Me? What do you mean? I'm fine."

Amy was staring at her, with that unbelieving look that said, _I know you're lying._

Sinead sighed, "Really, I'm fine."

"No you're not. What's your deal with Jonah? I've never seen you just blatantly be mean to someone you barely know." Amy didn't say this accusingly, she sounded confused.

Now it was Sinead's turn to look down at her drink. She knew that if she didn't give Amy a straight answer, her cousin would keep pressing. Amy Cahill may come across to some as a pushover, but when she was determined there was no stopping her.

"I don't know." Sinead confessed. "I try not to let him irritate me, but then he'll say something in that arrogant tone and I just can't help myself."

"He does sound like that sometimes," Amy admitted, "But not every time you've snapped at him. Really, you don't know why?" She pushed.

Sinead groaned, "Ok, I'll tell you. But you have to promise also that you won't say anything, especially to him." She eyed Amy warily, knowing that Amy and Jonah seemed to hit it off well.

"I won't." A curious gleam entered in Amy's eyes instead of the sad look they had held a few minutes ago, and Sinead suddenly decided that she didn't mind telling her.

"Ok, so it's just that I don't believe he sincerely cares about us, I think he's just pretending to." She said, "Haven't you caught any interviews on T.V. the past couple of years, or heard him talk about himself or 'hot babes'?" She held her fingers up and made quotation marks in the air.

Amy frowned, "I guess not."

"Well I saw several. I know that no one is perfect, and he obviously isn't as bad as he was on the clue hunt," She avoided looking at her cousin's face when she said this, knowing that she hadn't been the best on the clue hunt either. "But I can't stand that attitude in a guy. And sorry, but I'm going to have to see more before I believe that he has changed."

During her entire rant Amy had just sat there silently, and now as Sinead looked up she saw her friend's jade eyes looking calmly back at hers.

"Look Sinead, I know that he may have been a jerk in the past or whatever, and that your opinion of him is apparently based off of those instances. But he may have a reason for that."

Sinead looked at her closely, suddenly suspicious. "Has he given you one?" She asked.

Amy looked down, "He's talked to me a little about his past, but he didn't go into detail. I'm just letting you know that you should give him a break. I know that you are too honest to kiss up to him and I don't expect you to try to be besties with him, but maybe just try to be nice?"

Sinead let out a humorless laugh. "Jonah and I, besties?" But she saw her cousin's face and added, "I'll try Amy, I promise."

But she still didn't have to like him, or kiss the ground he walked on.

* * *

The girls returned that evening after a day of shopping and pampering to find that the guys weren't there. They asked the butler who informed them that they went to Jonah's private studio in the city, and would return shortly.

"They went without us?" Nellie sounded put out. "Hmpf."

"I would much rather go shopping than sit in a boring studio all day." Natalie stated.

"Not me, I think it would be pretty sweet." Reagan said.

Sinead kept quiet, but then thought of her pact with Amy and admitted, "I do too Reagan."

The girls all looked at her in shock.

"Hey, I love gadgets. I think that the equipment would be pretty interesting." She said defensively.

Nellie raised her eyebrows, "You aren't interested at all in what Jonah does? Like as far as recording or dancing or anything?"

Sinead frowned. "Not really. I couldn't even sing any of his songs right now. I listen to acoustic mostly and soft rock."

Nellie shook her head. "Well I admit that I like his old style better, but his new music isn't bad. It's a lot of upbeat dance stuff, but there is still hip-hop and rap intermingled with it." She started belting out some lyrics - probably from one of Jonah's songs - causing the rest of the girls to wince.

"I'm going upstairs." Madison said quickly, and Natalie and Reagan added that they were too, leaving the other three girls in the entryway.

As they left the noise of a car pulling up could be heard, and seconds later the guys piled in, pumped up and talking non-stop.

"Dude, my moves were killer!" Dan said. Then he added to Jonah modestly, "Yours were pretty good too."

"Sinead you would have loved the equipment!" Ted told her, eyes bright. "You totally could have helped us jam."

She just smiled at their enthusiasm. "I'll have to check it out while I'm here." She agreed, causing Jonah to turn his head to look at her quickly. She didn't return the glance though, instead turning back to Nellie.

"Now, what we were saying about music," She continued. "I was planning on going to a concert or two on my break before I was reminded that we were coming here."

"What kind of music do you like?" This came from Hamilton, who was hanging his jacket up, which had a sprawling 'Green Bay Packers' logo on the back it.

"Acoustic. I love guitar. And rock." She repeated for him.

"There are concerts in L.A. all of the time I'm sure," Amy said, "Or maybe even closer. Why don't you look and see?"

Sinead's eyes lit up, "Good idea!" She pulled out her phone, and after a few minutes of searching Google found one that would be near Santa Monica the next evening. And it was Jack Johnson, one of her favorite artists. Her heart beating fast, she checked the seat availability. There were only two good seats left, so she quickly purchased them, only stopping to ask if there were any group plans for the next night.

At finding out there weren't any, she excitedly bought the tickets, a smile stretching across her face. She looked up to ask if anyone wanted to go with her, only to find out that she was alone, the others wandering off to do their own thing.

She frowned as a thought hit her. _You promised Amy that you would try to get along with Jonah better. Why don't you ask him?_

As soon as it came though, she was already protesting silently. _There is no way I'm asking him. That would take all of the fun out of it._

As she debated with herself, the person in question turned the corner, almost running into her.

"Oops didn't see ya at first." Jonah started to walk past her, but Sinead stopped him.

"Wait," She said, then hesitated. Was she really about to ask her nemesis out?

 _It's not like it will be a date. More like a time to try to get past your prejudices and give him a chance to prove you wrong, although you doubt it can happen._

Jonah didn't say anything, just waited with eyebrows raised. He didn't look too friendly either, standing there in his leather jacket with arms crossed.

She let out a breath. "So I bought two tickets for a concert tomorrow night." She said reluctantly. "Do you want to go with me?"

He stared at her incredulously. "What?"

"Do you want to go with me to the concert?" She repeated through gritted teeth. "If you don't then that's fine."

He let out a laugh. "No." Then he turned and ascended the stairs, leaving her standing there staring after him.

She let out a frustrated yelp and turned and stormed to the den, hoping that it would be empty. The nerve of him to laugh and then decline! Couldn't he at least be cordial about it? Pushing back the thoughts that were leaping at her, telling her that she hadn't been cordial to him the past couple of days either, she fumed.

She thought about asking Amy then decided against it. _I'll just go by myself. It will be good to get away._

At that, she changed her direction and went upstairs, throwing out all of her notions about being nice to her conceited cousin. And - as she walked - she tried to push down the feeling that she was more hurt than angry.

* * *

Sinead was unusually quiet the next morning all through breakfast and then when they were all sitting in the den afterwards, and it was Natalie who picked up on it.

"What's wrong with you?" The brunette asked. "You haven't said a word all morning."

Sinead kept reading her book (or pretended to anyways). "Can't I be mellow every once in a while?"

"Natalie's right, something is up." Ned observed, "Are you feeling sick or something?"

"I'm. Fine." She said firmly, turning a page, staring unseeingly at the words on it.

"Whatever you say." Ned mumbled.

Sinead could feel a few eyes on her, but all of them turned away after a few seconds. All except one.

Sometimes, she hated being smart. It was annoying how she knew that it was a pair of light chocolate eyes that were staring at her, not looking away like the others.

She turned another page emphatically, then annoyed, finally looked up. Sure enough, Jonah was watching her, his eyes studying her face. She boldly met them and was a little disconcerted at the intense look in them.

She gave him a _'what'_ look, but he didn't back down.

"Are ya mad at me?" He asked, breaking the silence.

Sinead didn't look away, instead replying in a sarcastic tone, "Now why _ever_ would I be upset at _you_?"

He ignored her sarcasm and said as if he just gotten a revelation. "You _are_ mad at me. I hurt your feelings didn't I, when I turned ya down last night?"

Now the whole room, who were probably trying to discreetly listen in, lost all pretense of being polite.

"Turned him down?"

"Sinead, you asked him out?!"

"I don't believe it…"

Sinead's heart dropped, and she wanted to kill Jonah - nothing new - but this time she wanted to throw some torture in first.

She answered in a low, fierce voice.

"First of all, my feelings aren't hurt. No one has that power over me, especially you." Turning to her other relatives she stated, "Secondly, I didn't ask him out, not like that. I was trying to be nice and asked him if he wanted to go to the concert with me tonight. He declined, probably for the best, end of story."

She went back to her book, fuming again about the big deal he had made it, AND that he was right about her feelings being hurt.

She heard him let out a sigh.

"Sinead." He said, but she was ignoring him again.

"SINEAD." It was louder this time, causing her to jerk her head up.

"What?" She snapped.

"I'll go with you."

She stared at him, confused. "You said no, remember? And besides, I don't want you to go now."

"Why did ya ask me?" He said, unruffled by her words.

She dropped her book, giving up. "Look, I know that I probably haven't been fair to you-"

She heard Ted say, "Probably?", but went on.

"-I was just thinking that maybe I should try harder to get along with you and that this might help. But it's fine really, your attitude last night showed me that it probably wouldn't."

"Can ya blame me?" Jonah's voice rose, "I didn't think you were serious! You're always tryin' to pick a fight with me and I had no idea how to take it."

"I don't always try to pick a fight with you!" Sinead argued, then realized that she was proving his point.

Jonah chuckled, humor lighting his eyes now instead of frustration, "See?"

"Ugh, ok, so maybe we do need to try harder to resolve our conflicts." She admitted.

"I agree, although fighting with you sure is interesting."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She couldn't help but sound defensive.

Jonah met her eyes, amusement lacing his features, "Only that most girls don't try to insult me at every turn. If they aren't throwing themselves on me, they are at least nice."

He allowed his annoying smirk to take over his face at those words, causing Sinead to retort, "Well maybe they should, then your ego wouldn't be as big as it is."

Instead of arguing, he just let his smirk fade into a grin, refusing to take the bait.

"Ok, so," Ned was looking in between them, "you two are going on a date tonight?"

"It's not a date!" Sinead shot her brother a death glare, ignoring her heartbeat that had picked up when he said the word ' _date'_.

"Ooookay." He said, holding his hands up. "But you two are really going out together, alone?"

Sinead and Jonah exchanged glances, "Yes?" Jonah said, it coming out like question.

"And where is this concert and what time does it start?" Ted jumped in.

Sinead had no idea why they were asking, but provided the information.

"Ok, so you won't be keeping her out late right?" Ned turned to Jonah, "As her brothers,-"

But he was cut off by Sinead, who - alarmed and embarrassed - repeated through clenched teeth. "This. Is. Not. A. Date."

"Still," Nellie eyed them, "We probably should send a search party out if they aren't back by midnight. For bodies, ya know."

Sinead groaned, "Seriously? Can't everyone mind their own business for once?"

Everyone just laughed, agreeing with Nellie that Sinead and Jonah would probably kill each other, but dropped the subject.

It was going to be an interesting night.

* * *

 **;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**So I'm REALLY excited about this chapter! This is the 3** **rd** **one I wrote for this story (chapter 15 and 16 were the first, hehe) and it's one of my favorites. Maybe because I simply LOVE Jonah Wizard and we get to find out more about him? I don't know…but anyways, TADA!**

* * *

 **-Chapter 6-**

Sinead gave herself one more glance-over in the mirror. She was wearing mustard colored pants with a black and white striped shirt, but it felt like something was missing. She looked in her closet and spied a light blue blazer and decided to throw that on too, then looked down to make sure she coordinated. She had opted for black flats instead of heels or anything dressier, thinking that the concert would be pretty casual.

When it came to makeup she had decided to wear a little more than normal, which felt sort of weird since she didn't want Jonah to think that she saw this as a date. Her brother's words from that morning had bothered her more than she had let on. It was impossible to deny Jonah's attractiveness (especially when she was near him), but Sinead had convinced herself that it didn't mean anything. So what? A lot of guys were attractive, that didn't mean that she liked them.

Descending the stairs, she tried her best to shake the date-like feeling, but it was hard, especially when she saw that Jonah was standing at the bottom of the staircase talking to Ian. He looked up as she approached but she looked away, choosing to focus on the banister.

"You look nice." He said. Sinead almost blushed, caught off guard by the comment. But all embarrassment fled when he added, "There, that was being nice right? Compliments?"

She glared at him, "Maybe if you had just stuck to the first line." Shrugging past him she added. "Come on I don't want to be late."

She didn't wait for an answer but walked out to her car. Jonah caught up. "Wait, we're taking your car? We could take..."

She cut him off. "We are taking my car, and I'm driving. I don't want everyone starting at us if we show up in a limo."

She was so glad that she decided to rent a car while she was here. It just made it easier, and Jonah's cars were too extravagant.

"That wasn't what I was gonna say. I was going to suggest the Lamborghini." He protested.

She rolled her eyes, ignoring him and getting in. It was an awkward ride to the concert, neither of them really knowing what to say. Jonah was being cautious, making small talk about the weather, and Sinead was giving short answers, reminding herself to give him a fair chance.

It was hard though when they arrived and Jonah said, "Wow, this arena is really small. Who is this guy again?"

"Jack Johnson." She said through gritted teeth. _He's not trying to be a jerk._

Now maybe if she repeated that phrase the entire evening she would start to believe it.

"I shoulda known it was someone who isn't that popular, no wonder you got tickets so last minute. My shows sell out within hours. Man I hope I'm not recognized or something, I would hate to steal this guy's spotlight."

"Jonah?"

He stopped talking and looked over at her.

"Shut up." She advised.

"Oh, yeah. My bad." He said.

They exited the car, walking silently into the arena where they found their seats easily. Jonah looked around, wrinkling his nose, but didn't say anything, instead pulling his jacket closer and tugging up the hood, probably to blend in with the crowd. Sinead, who hadn't really been paying any attention to him until now, stole a glance at his profile. He looked nice in black jeans and a button up shirt - although he had his jacket covering most of it now, making him appear a little more casual. He caught her glance.

"What?" He asked.

She turned towards the stage, wishing that she hadn't hurried them out the door and that the show was already starting. He was sure to push this topic.

"Nothing." She said.

Surprisingly he didn't say anything else, choosing instead to comment on the lighting.

"It's legit." He said approvingly. "He plays a lot of acoustic music right?"

"You know who he is? I thought you said he wasn't that popular."

He grinned at her. "I was just trying to rile you up. I'm sorry." He didn't look sorry though. "I like his music; he uses a lot of guitar, something I never get to play with my style of music."

Sinead ignored his first comment, latching on to what he said about himself. "What made you change your style?" She couldn't keep the curiosity out of her voice. "You used to only rap, what changed?"

He was silent for a moment, before he said. "Is it ok if we talk about this at a different time?"

She frowned at him. "Ok." She guessed she deserved that after all of the times she had shut down on him.

He must have seen her expression, because he hurriedly added, "I'll tell ya, I promise, but not with this many people around. It's kinda a long story."

Sinead searched his face and saw the sincerity there. "Ok." She said again, but her voice was softer. They exchanged awkward smiles, then turned back to the stage, each drifting into their own thoughts.

The show started soon, and Sinead lost herself in the music, almost forgetting that Jonah was beside her. The couple of times she glanced over at him though he seemed to be enjoying it too.

Like most concerts, it ended on a high, the audience being exuberant and energetic. Sinead felt great as they exited the arena, even shooting Jonah a grin as she climbed into the driver's seat which he returned.

"Do you wanna grab a bite to eat?" Jonah asked her, settling into his own seat. "I skipped dinner and am starving."

"Sure," Sinead glanced at her phone. 9:50. She supposed it wasn't too bad since the concert hadn't started until 7:30 and there was a pre-show. She didn't want it get back late though and have to endure more teasing from her brothers.

"Why don't we just grab something in a drive-thru?" She asked. In the thirty minute drive to Santa Monica, she had spotted several fast-food joints.

Jonah frowned. "You know that this is California and restaurants stay open later right?" He asked.

She glared at him. "Yes I know, I just thought that a drive-thru would be faster."

"I really want French food though…"

"French food?" She was skeptical, having never tried it.

He stared at her, "Haven't you ever had it?"

"Not everyone likes the same stuff." She said defensively. "I like seafood and Italian. Sorry if that's not up to your exotic tastes standard."

"Hey, I like all kinds of food. I even like to cook 'em." He said, then his eyes widened when he realized what he said. "Oops, you weren't supposed to know that." He muttered.

Sinead felt astonished, and was sure it showed on her face. " _YOU_ like to cook?"

"Don't sound so surprised. You don't know everything about me."

It was true, but the way he said it stung. But then she glanced at him more closely. Was he _embarrassed_? She decided to go easy on him and confess also.

"I like to cook too," She said casually, "It's relaxing and fun. Not a big deal, why would I care if you cooked or not?"

But on the inside, she was impressed. She would have guessed that he had never picked up a pot or pan in his entire life.

"Really?" Jonah looked intrigued. "What kinds of food do ya like to make?"

She shrugged. "Mainly pastas, some meat dishes. Nothing fancy, but I know how to use seasonings."

"No way." He leaned back the seat and looked at her sideways. "I bet you can't cook French food though."

"I'm sure it's not that hard." She scoffed.

His eyes held a trace of humor. "Wanna bet?"

She raised her eyebrows, stealing another glance at him as she was driving. "Seriously? You know that I never back down from anything."

"Most of the time." Now the smile could be heard in his voice. She kept her eyes on the road though, spotting a McDonalds and slowing down. Jonah didn't complain like she had thought he would, instead just telling her what he wanted. She gave the order and then brought the cooking back up as they were waiting to pay.

"We could have a cooking contest." She said, wanting to prove him wrong about cooking French food. It couldn't be that difficult.

"When?" Was all he said. Sinead thought for a moment, she would need time to research and shop for ingredients and then secretly test things out.

"Friday?" She said. "Since our schedule is pretty packed this week I need to have time to at least look up a recipe, since you have an advantage here."

He nodded, "Friday is good."

It was their turn to pay, so Sinead reached for her wallet.

"I got it." Jonah said quickly, leaning over and handing the girl at the register his gold VISA before Sinead could protest.

"I could have gotten that. I invited you after all." She said, but Jonah was shaking his head.

"I'm the guy, I should pay." He said.

Sinead gave him a hard stare. "But this isn't a date." She emphasized.

"I know." Jonah said in his extra-casual tone that she really hated. "But I'm supposed to be working on not 'being a jerk' remember?" He quoted her words to him the previous day.

Sinead flushed and just handed him back his card, pulling the car up to get their food. It was a quiet drive back, Sinead driving, eating, and already planning for the contest. She had a free morning tomorrow and could probably get Amy to help her go shopping...her thoughts were cut off by Jonah reminding her that the turn-off for his house was coming up. She shot him a look but didn't say anything. They had made it through the evening with minimal fighting and she was trying to keep it that way.

When she had pulled back in the driveway a thought hit her, and she looked over at him, smiling mischievously.

"Want to play a prank on our cousins? As payback for teasing us earlier?"

Jonah's eyes lit up. "Definitely, what should we do?"

"Stage a huge fight as we are waking in?" Sinead suggested. "It will come naturally for us."

Jonah laughed loudly. It was a nice laugh, she reflected, then wanted to kick herself for even thinking it.

"Too easy. Let's do it." He hopped out of the car. "I'll start."

They arrived at the door, Jonah throwing a wink at Sinead before opening it and stating in a loud whine, "I don't know why you're so mad cuz!"

Great, it was up to her to think of a reason for their fight, and after Jonah had thrown her that wink her brain had gone numb. She thought fast, and answered in a loud voice, "You don't know? Why does that not surprise me?"

He threw his hands up. "You drive me insane." He stated, exasperated. Although they were playing around, she reflected that this was probably true, and barely held back her smirk.

They had both entered now, and already their nosy cousins - who were probably only there to see how their night ended - were gaping from the living area. She only glanced over briefly but it looked like they were all there.

Showtime.

"Well YOU'RE the one with an ego problem, not me! You just couldn't shut up the whole concert about how your shows are better."

"Well they are." Jonah shrugged. "Besides, if we're gonna talk about EGOS." He looked pointedly at her. He shifted so that his back was to the others, and he let out a smirk. Sinead barely kept her expression schooled.

"I don't have an ego problem!" She exclaimed, pretending to be offended.

"Oh yeah? What was that about Harvard again?"

"I'm done with this conversation." She stated, heading for the stairs.

"Of course you are. You're always done when you the spotlight hits YOUR flaws."

He sounded frustrated, and she paused, not knowing anymore whether they were playing around or not. She slowly turned to face him. From the angle she had, she could also see her cousins, who were looking at both of them, some knowingly and some a bit stunned.

Jonah met her gaze calmly, and inclined his head as if to say, "Are they buying it?"

Sinead let out a laugh, not being able to go on. This was just too ironic, them staging a fight like this. Jonah joined her, and she barely got out, "So, we're good?"

"Definitely good." He agreed, coming closer to give her a hi-five.

There was silence for a moment (with the exception of their laughter), then they could hear the confusion behind them, a flurry of "what" and "I don't get it", said in whispers.

"Oh?" Sinead arched her eyebrows and walked over and sat by Nellie and Ned on the couch. "You guys are all up and just sitting here?"

Guilty expressions met hers. She could see Jonah standing behind a chair where Ted was sitting and he was still grinning at her. Pretending she didn't see it, she dropped her eyes down and acted like she was just looking at her brother.

"You caught us." Ted said, wincing at his sister and catching on before the others did.

Sinead just laughed. "You guys deserved it, teasing us like you did earlier."

Madison looked back between her and Jonah incredulously, "That was just a joke?" She asked.

"Yep. Totally staged." Jonah answered, "Did ya all really think that Sinead and I couldn't go through the entire night without fighting?"

It was quiet for a minute. "Yes." Natalie finally answered for the group, and everyone chimed in their agreement.

"Well we did." Sinead stated firmly. "Well mostly." She amended. "We had a little argument over who can cook better."

Jonah shot her a panicked look, and Sinead remembered that it was supposed to be a secret. "Oops." She said. "Well, we need judges remember?"

He just glared at her, something different from his normal easy-going expression and she winced. She really did feel bad about letting that slip, especially after they had been getting along so well.

"I'm sorry Jonah." She said sincerely. "I didn't mean to say that, it just came out."

He sighed and closed his eyes. "You can cook?" Nellie sounded as impressed as Sinead had when she found out. "That's totally cool! Me too."

The rest of the cousins looked surprised but also agreed with Nellie.

"Hey that's nothing to be ashamed of." Amy said, smiling at him. "Lots of people cook."

"Why didn't you want anyone to know?" Regan asked.

Jonah shrugged, scratching the back of his neck and looking down. "So much of my life is public that there are some things I like to keep to myself." He looked pointedly at Sinead, who bit her lip.

"I really didn't mean to say anything." She said in a low voice, hearing the guilt in it. "I promise."

His gaze softened at her tone, and answered. "It's ok babe, I know ya didn't mean to."

She started at his words, blinking at him in confusion. After taking her and the rest of the group's expressions in, Jonah let out a little laugh. "It's ok _Sinead_. Sorry, habits are hard to break. I used to call girls that all the time."

She just rolled her eyes at him; brushing it off, but inwardly her heart leapt at hearing him call her that.

"So now that you all know, and hopefully will keep it a secret," He eyed the others in the room, "Sinead and I are having a cooking contest Friday. You get to be the judges."

He threw a smirk in her direction. "May the best cook win." He said.

Sinead let out a dramatic, fake yawn. "Which will be me." It was her turn to act arrogant. "Yo." She added for the heck of it.

Jonah opened his mouth, but she stood up and cut him off, really wanting to end this day without a fight, and _really_ feeling the need for space right now.

"Well I'm going upstairs. I have work to do. Prep and all."

"I'll go with you." This came from Amy, who had been fairly quiet the entire time. She joined Sinead and the two walked up together after telling the others goodnight.

"So how was it?" Amy asked her, sounding methodical.

Sinead started to tell her, but paused. "Are you ok?" She asked her, trying to look her in the eye so she would know if she was telling the truth or not.

But Amy avoided her gaze. "Sure."

She was a terrible liar, and knew it. She looked back at Sinead. "Can we talk about it tomorrow?" She pleaded.

Sinead thought back to Jonah almost saying the same thing earlier, and nodded slowly.

"Of course." She answered. "Actually, I need to pick up some ingredients from the store in the morning, wanna go with me?"

"Sure!" Amy answered, too enthusiastically.

Sinead eyed her cousin. "Sure you don't want to talk about it?" She prodded.

"Positive. Thanks for asking me to go with you. It will be good for me to get out."

"Ok." She dropped it for now, and proceeded to tell Amy all about the concert, allowing herself to get lost in the moment again, but avoided all mentions of the celebrity that she had actually ended up enjoying spending time with.

* * *

 **There it is! If you liked it even a tad bit PLEASE review! I know that this isn't a popular pairing and that's probably the reason only a couple are reviewing, but an 'I liked it' or even an 'I hated it' would be nice! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter is dedicated to my most faithful reviewer, 'Just a Happy Wombat'!**

 **Thanks for your encouragement! I've written the rest of this story (all 22 chapters) but I'm trying to get input as I go. I don't know what I would do without you! I hope you like this chapter.**

* * *

They were halfway into their grocery store trip before Amy finally shared with Sinead what was bugging her.

"He has a girlfriend." She stated, causing Sinead to throw her a sympathetic glance, knowing immediately who she was talking about.

"I'm sorry Amy, are they serious?"

The other girl shrugged, "I don't know, he just mentioned that his girlfriend was a model in conversation last night. I don't really want to talk about it though, if you don't mind." She sounded upset, but resigned.

Sinead felt bad for her but agreed, knowing that sometimes she was the same way. She glanced down at her phone again that had the recipe she was going to make on it.

"Just a few more items." She mumbled. _Where in the heck am I supposed to find Brut Cider?_ It wasn't fair; Jonah could probably have these ingredients flown in from the motherland if he wanted.

"So," Amy's voice sounded strange, causing Sinead to look up from her musings, "What is going on between you and Jonah? You guys seemed almost friendly last night."

Sinead shrugged it off. "I took your advice and was nice, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. He didn't annoy me too much, and we actually got along pretty well." She frowned at her list again, thinking that maybe she should have found some way to make the challenge Italian food instead of French.

"Do you like him?"

"What?" Sinead was taken aback, "What do you mean, 'like him'? I just said he wasn't bad."

"I mean romantically. I think he likes you Sinead."

Sinead laughed, still shocked and thinking that Amy must really be losing it. She eyed her cousin, "There is no way Jonah thinks of me like that. He could have his pick of almost any girl he wants. And we still don't get along that great." She winced, thinking of the many times she kept her mouth shut to avoid fighting the past evening.

Amy frowned. "You didn't deny that you like him." She observed.

"Because the notion is ridiculous!" Sinead blurted out, trying to calm her racing heartbeat and also trying not to think about his toned body and nice eyes. And lips. And smile. In a calmer tone she added, "What made you even think to ask?"

"He's interested in you Sinead." Amy said stubbornly, "I can't believe someone as smart as you hasn't picked up on it. Haven't you noticed how he watches you when he thinks you aren't looking? Or how he seems to not be able to stand it when you ignore him? Or how he pays more attention to you than anyone else?"

Sinead thought back over the past few days. "I guess not." She admitted, but still thought that Amy must be imagining things. "Even if there was some kind of attraction there," She stated firmly, "Our lives are too different to even consider it. End of story."

" _Have_ you been considering it?" There was an excited gleam in Amy's eye.

"No!" Sinead denied, "Now help me find the rest of this stuff and let's forget we had this crazy conversation."

Amy allowed Sinead to change the subject, but didn't say much the rest of the trip. Sinead had no idea why Amy felt so certain that Jonah liked her, but she thought that it was absurd. Sure, he probably was thrown off by the fact that Sinead didn't seem to care for him, and it probably did drive him crazy to not get the attention. But romantic feelings? Sinead shook her head, confusion falling over her by the whole topic.

They returned shortly after lunch and Sinead wandered outside by the pool, bored, to find her brothers swimming. They were alone though, and Sinead was happy to see that. She really hadn't gotten to talk to them much. She dipped her feet in the pool until they were done, and they all walked onto the patio together.

"Are you guys having a good time?" She asked them cheerfully, deciding to forget how they had teased her the night before.

"Yeah, it's been a lot of fun." Ted said, "What about you sis?"

"Oh, enjoying the break." She said, "School normally isn't stressful because it comes so easily to me but this last project about got me." She admitted, feeling freer to admit that around her close family members.

The two of them exchange a glance.

"What is it?" She asked, still relaxed.

"Do you ever stop to think that you're doing too much?" Ned said. "You know how we feel about you getting so many PhDs."

Frowning at them, her good mood started to evaporate as Sinead felt herself start to get upset.

"I do. You've given up on the fact that there is a cure out there for you." Her voice caught, this subject being a hard one for her to talk about. But she continued, "I won't give up though. You don't have to live like this if I can help it."

"But Sinead," Ned said patiently, "I barely get headaches anymore."

"Yeah, and I can see just fine with this prescription." Ted added. "We just worry about you being so obsessed with this. What happens if you put all kinds of time and effort into research and you don't find a cure?"

Sinead felt the familiar fear rise, the fear that always consumed her when she thought too much about failing, about never being able to help her brothers. Her voice rose slightly, tears already springing up in her eyes.

"What do you mean, if I _don't_ find a cure?" She demanded, trying to fight the tears off but failing.

They looked at each other again before Ned said in a quiet voice, "Sinead, you're smart but there might not be anything out there to help."

"There has to be, and I will find it!" She said, her voice high, "I have too!"

She choked on the word _'have'_ , and her brothers looked at her, worried at her sudden spurt of emotion.

"Calm down." Ted advised.

"I won't calm down, not while you two are acting like you've already given up!"

"Whoa, whoa, what's the matter?" An alarmed voice came from the doorway of the patio. They all three whirled around, and Sinead felt her heart drop at the sight of Jonah Wizard standing there, looking at her with concern.

"Are you crying?" He sounded amazed, like he didn't think she was even capable of feeling that emotion. Sinead suddenly felt vulnerable, like every failure and weakness was showing on her face and in her eyes. She hardened her facial expression, embarrassed that he was seeing her like this.

"What's it to you?" She snapped at him, causing him to physically recoil.

"I didn't mean-" He said, but she cut him off.

"Yes you did. Mind your own business!"

"Ya know what?" His eyes glistened with anger. "You're one of the hardest persons to be nice too. I don't even know why I try sometimes."

His words hurt, cutting at Sinead deeply, causing memories to fly at her. _"You're so hard to get along with." Her best friend of 7 years had said, just months after the Clue Hunt. "This friendship is over."_

Sinead just stared at him in shock, feeling the tears building up again, before she turned back to her brothers.

"I'll never stop trying." She vowed, and then turned and pushed passed Jonah in the doorway, leaving him there with her brothers. She needed to be alone for a while.

* * *

She avoided Jonah the next two days, which was easy, considering that he was doing the same thing to her.

The others picked up on this, but didn't say anything, probably wary of getting in the middle of it or making it worse. Instead, they just pretended like everything was fine and it ended up working out ok.

They spent the day after Sinead's blow up hanging out in L.A., taking in the sights. The city was so busy that Sinead found herself almost forgetting about her meltdown, until she was in close proximity of Jonah of course. At least now she could convince herself that Amy had been imagining things as far as him having romantic thoughts about her. He was acting like she had the plague.

Today, they had decided to play a game of volleyball on Jonah's sprawling lawn behind the pool. Sinead had been the one to suggest it to the Holts, needing to stay active in order to get her mind off of the tension between her and Jonah. As far as she knew the cooking contest (set up for the next night) was still on, but until then she had decided to forget everything, including her discussion with her brothers about her degrees and reason behind getting them.

Sinead would have rather been playing lacrosse, but you had to have a lot more people than the 8 who were now playing, the others opting to sit out.

It was the girls against the guys; Sinead, Madison, and Reagan had finally convinced Nellie to team up with them since the guy's team had four players, all of them playing except for Jonah, who was sitting on the patio with Amy and teaching her some songs on the keyboard. Ian also wasn't there, but no one knew where he had disappeared to. Natalie was working on her tan by the pool, complaining that since coming here they had been indoors a lot.

"Remember, the ball goes _over_ the net." She could hear Hamilton boom at his team on the other side.

Sinead laughed, the girls were smoking the guys. With the two Holt girls on their team and Sinead being athletic, they had the advantage.

"I know the rules of the game." Ned said, and then started rattling off the concepts of Volleyball to Hamilton, who looked like he didn't understand half of it.

"It's no use Hamilton!" Reagan grinned, "We are whipping your butts, deal with it."

"This isn't over yet!" He threw back at her, flexing his muscles in determination.

Nellie yawned, "Geez, this game takes more out of you than I thought. What's the score again?"

Ted called it out, and the game was on again.

Fifteen minutes and a lot of smack talk later - the girls gloating about their win - they joined the others on the patio. Natalie came up too and slid onto Dan's lap (which the others pretended to gag at).

"That was just what I needed!" Sinead said, closing her eyes and leaning back in the chair.

"I think I could have survived without all of that exercise." Nellie complained, but her eyes were still bright from the victory.

"Remember," Madison sang out, "You guys lost, so the girls get to decide what we do tonight!"

"As long as we don't have to paint each other's toenails.." Ned complained, and Natalie's eyes lit up.

"We could-," She started, but Dan cut in, "NO." He stated firmly, and Natalie turned her puppy-dog look on him.

"Absolutely not." Dan didn't cave. "There are some things I won't do for you."

She pouted at this, but he just pulled her closer, causing her to giggle slightly. The others were amused, their attention on the young couple, when Amy spoke up. "Why don't we do a talent show?" She asked.

Madison frowned, "I was thinking more of a bonfire where the guys have to cook our stuff for us or something."

"We could do both!" Reagan's eyes lit up. "But the talent should be something outside of our branches, like I can't brag about how much weight I can lift and Jonah can't dance."

Her brother looked at her approvingly. "Great idea Reag," he said.

She beamed at him, then turned to the rest of the group for approval.

"Sounds good to me," Nellie said, "I could sing or something."

At everyone's expressions, she laughed. "I'm kidding guys. I have other talents that no one knows about."

Sinead doubted this, (Nellie liked to brag too much) but didn't say anything.

 _A talent that no one knows about_.

She wasn't too keen on the idea, but thought that it was better than pedicures, like Dan had stated.

A few hours later after showers and changes of clothes, they were all gathered out by the fire. Sinead thought that they would have it out where the volleyball game had been played but someone started it between the patio and pool. She supposed that it was fine, thinking that Jonah probably thought of himself above fires and all and then got mad at herself.

 _You're supposed to be ignoring him. That includes thinking about him too._

She made herself focus on the night which was a blast, the girls making the guys wait on them hand and foot (which they whined constantly about) and then it was time for the talent show which they moved back to the patio for.

Sinead really ended up enjoying it; Dan told some jokes, which were so stupid that no one could stop laughing. Then they got to the hidden talents, finding out that Reagan could juggle, Madison could sing, and Ned could paint. Even Sinead, his own sister, hadn't known he could do that.

They were almost done with the circle, just leaving 4 of them, when it came around to Jonah.

"Hmmmm a talent that no one knows." He looked hesitant. "Can I trust you guys? That this won't leave the cuz circle?"

Everyone chimed in their agreement, but Nellie overrode them all.

"Oh of coouurse." She sang out. "Is this like a Wizard exclusive or something?"

Jonah glanced at her, "Kinda. And I don't know if it would count towards the talent show since I'm a Janus. But this actually didn't come that naturally for me. Hang on."

He wasn't gone long and soon returned with a full length keyboard, not bothering with a stand, instead just placing it on the table in the center of the furniture.

"It's cordless." He explained as he sat down, taking a deep breath and placing his hands on the keys.

Sinead frowned, and could see everyone else wearing the same face. They all knew that Jonah could play the piano - that was nothing new. But he was looking at Amy.

"Tell me one of your favorite classical pieces. A difficult one."

Amy looked flustered, not expecting the question. "Um, a difficult one, let's see." She thought for a moment. "Malaguena? I heard it once and loved it."

Jonah nodded, "Ok, I've only played it a few times." He closed his eyes, as if trying to remember the tune. He then opened them and glanced at the rest of the circle again. "I play classical. A lot. This song I'm not as familiar with but I love playing, especially when I have a lot on my mind or am stressed out."

Amy beamed, "Wow that's great Jonah, but why the secrecy?"

"Because he's a famous singer, and has an image to uphold." Madison chimed in.

Jonah looked slightly peeved. "Yeah." He muttered. "Dad doesn't think it would be good for my rep if people knew."

He didn't look at them, and Sinead actually felt sorry for him. Then she caught herself, hardening against the feelings of sympathy. "Are you going to play or what?" She asked briskly.

Jonah's eyes met hers, and she felt a little abashed at the 'now what did I do to you' look in them, but after a few seconds he just looked back to the keys.

Sinead had never heard the song before, but was floored by how fast it was, how effortlessly Jonah's fingers flew over the keyboard (especially for him stating he didn't know the song that well), and how much emotion he put into the song. You could see it in his face. He stumbled a bit towards the middle, but made up for it at the end.

Amy, who was sitting between Jonah and Sinead, even leaned over to Sinead at one point whispering, "He's adding his own stuff in there too, incredible."

Sinead was impressed, she really was, and didn't try to hide it.

"Wow," She whispered back to Amy, but was wondering more about the emotion he was displaying rather than the skill that he was playing with. She shivered a little, but convinced herself that it was just the wind, which had picked up considerably since the sun had set.

It was quiet when he finished, but then then his cousins broke out in applause. Jonah, who should have been used to such things, ducked his head.

"No big deal." He said, but Sinead thought that she caught a look of pleasure on his face (without holding its usual arrogance) before he looked down.

Now it was Amy's turn. She flushed at all of the attention on her.

"Well," She said, "I wrote a poem this week and thought I would share it with you."

Everyone muttered approvingly, and Amy took a deep breath, then started to recite.

Sinead couldn't tell if it was about love or heartbreak, but her heart went out to her cousin as she shyly read it. She figured that it was probably both, and probably about Ian.

It was quiet on the patio when she finished, and Amy cleared her throat. "Yeah." She said uncomfortably, "It could have been better…"

Ian, who had been fairly quiet the whole night, spoke up. "It was beautiful." He said softly, looking at Amy with an unreadable expression.

Amy blushed, "Thanks." She muttered.

Sinead saw Dan across the way look at Ian sharply. Natalie, who was glued to Dan's side, was looking at her brother also but with a knowing smile.

Dan spoke up, as if wanting the attention to be taken off of Ian and his sister. "Well you're next Sinead."

Sinead gulped, she still hadn't thought of anything to share.

"I don't really have anything." She confessed, looking down at her fingernails.

"Come on Sinead, you're good at lots of stuff." Hamilton encouraged. The others all agreed.

"Inventions maybe." She said, "But nothing that you guys wouldn't know."

They kept pressing her though, and Sinead started getting upset. She really wasn't good at much, and even though she was good at breaking into things and working codes, what good was it doing her?

"Look guys, I'm really not good at anything, besides codes." She stated honestly, or so she thought anyways. "I don't know what you want me to do."

Ted caught her gaze, "What about writing? Don't you do some freestyle stuff?"

Annoyed that he had disclosed something so personal to her to the entire group, she stood.

"Not anymore, all the writing I do is for school, a lot of good that does me."

"What do you mean?" Madison frowned, "What are you going to school for? Maybe you could share some of that."

"Or you could share an invention," Ian suggested, "If that's all you can think of."

Sinead knew that they were trying to be helpful, but she couldn't help but be reminded of the conversation she had with her brothers the other day.

"What makes you guys think that I'm even good at that?" She demanded, feeling her voice go cold. They all blinked at her mood swing and she knew she should stop, but she couldn't keep the words from coming out of her mouth.

"I can't even help my brothers, did you all know that? Ned still gets headaches, Ted still has trouble with his vision, and all of the degrees in the world I can get will probably never change that!" She said, feeling emotion springing up. Pressing it down, she turned to Ned and Ted, who were staring at her too, "You guys are right, I'm wasting my time getting my degrees. I'll never be able to find a cure. I'm a failure."

At that statement, something that she had feared of becoming but never had actually admitted verbally, she turned, glad she was near the door, and swiftly walked inside, not wanting all of her cousins to see her break down.

* * *

 **Ok, so Sinead probably seems really out of character in this chapter. But I think that when it comes to her brothers she's a little more emotional. And just with the 'hard' and 'sarcastic' front she has I would think that when her barriers** _ **do**_ **fall she would want to retreat. But yeah, she won't run that much anymore. We're about to see her brave side soon ;)**


	8. Chapter 7 - Jonah's POV

**So as soon as I wrote chapter 7 I turned around and wrote this short piece in Jonah's POV, just to get it out of my brain. (You writers know how that is) Tell me if you like it because I like to get inside of Jonah's head too and may write more from his POV. He's my bae ;)**

* * *

The patio was quiet once Sinead left, no one knowing what to say. Jonah for sure didn't know what to say, or think, besides, s _he's doing all of that for her brothers?_

Then Natalie spoke up, "What was that all about?"

Ned sighed. "I love my sister, but she worries too much about Ted and I. She just finished her PHD but is already planning to get another to try to find a cure for our problems, which we keep trying to tell her they aren't that bad."

Ted put in, "She's so stubborn though."

Jonah snorted, "Tell me 'bout it." But there was no bite in his tone.

He looked at Sinead's brothers. "So is that what you all were arguing about the other day when I walked out here? And why she got so mad at me for acting concerned?"

"Wait, when was this?" Amy asked.

"Two days ago, I came out here and it looked like she'd been crying. But when I asked her she blew up and hasn't spoken to me since."

Amy sighed, but she looked sympathetic, running her hands through her long brownish-red hair. "I'm sorry Jonah. She's really a good person, she's just so guarded."

"Yeah," said Nellie. "It took weeks for me to really talk to her. Although she wasn't snappy with me like she is with you all of the time."

"I'm convinced that she hates me," Jonah said, trying to act nonchalant about it, like it didn't bother him, even though it was all he had thought about the last two days. "But I haven't done anything to her, I don't get it."

Ted laughed, causing Jonah to look at him like he was crazy. "She definitely doesn't hate you. More like she hates it that she can't hate you."

Jonah hated to seem like a dim-witted celebrity, but he couldn't hold back the "huh?" from escaping. But he saw Natalie throw Ted the same confused look so he didn't feel so bad.

"You aren't what she expected, and it's throwing her off." Ned explained, helping Ted out. "Trust me, I know my sister. She doesn't hate you. She just hates feeling weak or people feeling sorry for her."

"Crying isn't weak." Madison protested. "I'm a Holt and even I know that."

"Yes, well, you don't live with her so you don't understand how she thinks." Dan said. "I have been for a few years and I don't think I've ever seen her cry."

There was a silence as his words sunk in, and Amy got up with a sigh. "I should go talk to her." She said, but Ian spoke up.

"Are you sure that's what she needs? If she embarrassed about showing weakness then she may want to be alone."

Jonah was surprised at the sensitivity Ian was showing with this question, and Amy must have thought the same thing because she stared at him as she slowly sat back down.

"You're right." She agreed. "She will just pretend that she's ok and I would have wasted my time."

Looking over at her cousins she added. "I think that Sinead will have to work it out on her own. We can be there for her but let's not let that ruin our night."

"Hey I could sing!" Nellie's face lit up, and the rest of them laughed. Trust Nellie to break the serious moment.

A thought came to Jonah though as the others started chatting and laughing amongst themselves. _So is there another reason why she doesn't like me? A reason that has to do with 'showing weakness'?_


	9. Chapter 8

**So I'm basing the phone call in this chapter from my own college experience. But it's been a while ago so sorry if it doesn't seem realistic. Anyways…..**

* * *

Sinead skipped breakfast the next morning, telling Amy that she didn't feel very good. Amy hadn't pushed, but Sinead had rolled over to avoid her cousin's look of pity (which was sure to be on her face).

Now, she snuggled under the heavy comforter and called herself all kind of stupid for reacting the way she had last night. She couldn't believe that she had dropped her guard like that in front of all of her relatives.

 _And Jonah. He probably thinks you're mental now, after that episode a few days back and then last night._

She thought about the way she had snapped at him last night, the wounded look in his eyes, and knew that she was being so unfair to him. Desperately not wanting her thoughts to go that route, she decided to get up and write.

Writing was something that she held close to her, something that she didn't want to share with the rest of the world. The ones close to her knew about it, like Amy and her brothers, but that was it. She didn't write all of the time, but when she was depressed or upset the words poured out of her.

After writing for about an hour, she decided to text Amy and see what everyone was up to. She knew that she couldn't avoid her family all day, but wanted to try as much as possible.

 _Hey what is everyone doing today? Do you know?_ She sent.

A few seconds later, her phone dinged.

 _I think some of us are going to go to the small shops in town to get souvenirs. Madison is staying though, she said her head hurts._

Sinead didn't know what to reply to this, but a few seconds later another text came in.

 _We are actually leaving now, I can bring you breakfast but the kitchen is clearing out if you want to come down. Just Madison is down here._

 _Thanks,_ she replied back, _I'll come down in a few minutes. You guys have fun._

At that, she got dressed, deciding to dress a little nicer today, something she liked to do when she was feeling down. It sounded silly but it helped her fight against her bad mood.

She chose a white tank top with big gold flowers at the top, a navy cardigan (not feeling comfortable yet displaying her scarred arms that much), and a red skirt, which wasn't too short, falling just above her knees. She continued her morning routine, spending extra time on her hair and makeup, before eyeing herself critically in the mirror.

 _Do I look put together enough?_ She asked herself. Her confidence restored after noticing that her eyes were no longer red or puffy and that she appeared relaxed, she went downstairs to find food.

It was a weird feeling to be one of the only ones here, the eerie quietness contrasting against the vastness of the house. She let her hands slide on the rail as she descended the steps, noticing the modern grooves in it, something she had never paid attention too before. Although the imposing mansion wasn't Sinead's style, she had to admit that the designers had done a good job.

She walked past the dining areas, hesitantly walking into the kitchen. Only Madison was sitting there though at the small table, head in her hands.

"Hey, are you ok?" She asked the younger girl.

Madison looked up with a smile, "Yes, I'm fine. My headache is actually going away. Do you want to do anything? It's just us here today. Oh, and Jonah." She added, then her face froze and she shot her cousin a worried look.

Sinead waved her hand, but inside she wasn't feeling as relaxed. Great, just what she needed, another day spending too much energy avoiding him. "It's fine, I can be nice."

A look of doubt crossed Madison's pretty face, but it fled quickly and was replaced with excitement. "Can we like, do each other's hair or something? I hardly get to do anything girly at home." She asked hopefully.

Sinead smiled at the girl, she felt like Madison and Reagan were almost like her little sisters. "Sure," she replied, and then looked down at her pocket where her phone had started ringing. "Hang on," she said, walking back to the doorway and pulling it out.

It was a Boston area code, and looked like it might be someone from the college. She frowned, hesitantly answering it. "This is Sinead."

"Sinead, this is Professor Caldwell. How are you?" He asked politely.

"I'm fine, how are you?" She responded automatically, racking her brain as to why he might be calling.

"I'm doing fine. I'm hoping that you are here in Boston. I can't get ahold of Julie, and I can't find the last element of your project, which is what you two were working on, I gather?"

Sinead froze, her heart dropping. "The experiments and results? I wrote them in the paper."

She could hear shuffling sounds from the other line. "Your research analysis paper? I don't see it here."

Sinead swallowed hard, closing her eyes and trying to think. "Is it not attached? We did the labs two weeks ago and all copied all of the results onto a separate sheet like you asked us to."

He sighed. "It's not attached. I know you all worked very hard on it and don't want to give you a failing grade for that part of the project. It's Thursday, is there any way you can have it to me by tomorrow at five? If you can't, I'm afraid I will have no choice but to give you a zero."

Sinead felt panic overtake her, and had to work at keeping her tone even. "I will see what I can do."

She thought that she still had the file on her home computer, but she wasn't sure. Most of everything was on Julie's laptop so it might have to be completely redone, and she wasn't sure who would be able to do it. None of the guys on the team would be able to retest and turn something in that quickly. Sinead knew that Julie might be able to, but she was on her way to Australia right now, all the way across the world. There was no way she would be able to get ahold of her before tomorrow and what if Julie somehow didn't have it? That left Sinead, but could she get a flight that fast and still have time to get it turned in? She could work on it here, but needed the equipment at the school and at her house.

She could barely hear her own voice, telling her professor goodbye and then hanging up. Madison was at her side in a flash.

"What's wrong? Who was that?" She demanded, looking at Sinead in concern.

Sinead tried to crush her panic, but didn't quite manage.

"My professor, I have to go back to Boston. Part of our assignment didn't get turned in." She could feel the panic - and tears - rising. She wasn't one to cry often, but when it came to things dear to her (like schoolwork that held in it a goal of helping her brothers) it was like all of her emotions she tried to keep at bay spilled out of her.

"It has to be turned in by tomorrow. What am I going to do Madison? I can't fail!" She wailed, grabbing her phone to look up flights, but hesitating. She didn't even want to look. It was a 2 hour drive to L.A., probably 3 in the traffic, and it was already almost eleven. There was no way that she would get home today. She helplessly dropped her phone back in her pocket and turned and walked to the other side of the large kitchen, putting her head in her hands against one of the windows.

She felt the tears drop from her eyes, and the words she had voiced the prior evening flew through her memory. _I'm a failure. I'll never be able to help Ted and Ned. And I've let my whole team down. How was I so stupid to not have Julie email me a copy of that lab?_

She heard someone enter the room and Madison breathed a sigh, probably of relief, but Sinead was lost in her agony. Until she heard a familiar voice, that is.

"Hey what's happenin- um Madison, what's going on?"

"Oh Jonah, thank goodness." She heard the tension ease from Madison's voice and felt terrible that she had broken down in front of the young girl. She tried to get ahold of herself, scrubbing at her tears frantically.

She could faintly hear Madison relay what was wrong, and then she heard silence for a minute, before a "Dad? Where's the plane?"

She wasn't sure what to make of that, her thoughts still in despair, trying to think of what to do. She wasn't used to this, not feeling in control and not having a plan.

Then, from Jonah still, "I need it here. I'll explain later. How long will it be and how close can ya get it?"

Sinead frowned, turning to him, not caring that she probably looked like a mess. What was he doing?

His attention was on the call though. "Ok, so 1? That's good. Is there enough fuel to get to Boston, Massachusetts in it? Sweet."

She looked at him, astonished, her normally quick brain feeling like mush. Was he planning to do what she thought he was?

He hung up and met her eyes. They were guarded, which brought Sinead's guilty feeling back full-force. "You're flying me home? To Boston?"

He looked away, fiddling with his jacket. "Well yeah, this is kinda an emergency."

She kept staring at him, not believing that he would be so willing to help her after how cold she had been to him.

"That's awesome! Sinead, do you need help packing your stuff? I can help you!" Madison beamed at her, happy that a solution had been found.

Sinead felt like she couldn't move, still looking at Jonah for an explanation. He finally looked back at her, his eyes darker than normal.

"Go pack. The plane will be here soon."

"Ok. Are you going to tell me why?"

"There's nothin' to tell. I would do it for anyone," He said stubbornly.

Sinead felt an arm on her shoulder, it was Madison. "Come on." The other girl said. "Maybe if I help you pack quickly you can still do my hair."

Sinead smiled, feeling her stress and worry fading away and agreed, and when she turned back Jonah was gone.

"That was really nice of him." Madison told her. "See, he's not that bad."

"I know." She whispered. "I'm beginning to see that."

* * *

Sinead was packed and ready (even doing Madison's hair for her like she requested) in record time. She was now waiting in the entryway for the driver, even though the plane wouldn't be here for another hour.

Madison stood with her, gesturing to the living area behind them.

"Do you want to sit down?" She asked. "We could watch T.V., I'm super behind on 'Criminal Minds'." She said woefully.

Sinead agreed, and they were only fifteen minutes into the show when the door opened and their cousins piled in, talking loudly about the stuff they had bought.

"Whose suitcase is this?" Natalie complained, "I almost tripped over it."

"Sinead's!" Madison hollered. "She's leaving soon."

At that, all of the cousins piled in around the girls, asking a flurry of questions.

Sinead held up her hands, "I'll tell you guys, but you have to listen because I'm not repeating myself." She eyed Dan.

They did so and she relayed the story, stepping back into the entryway due to Madison complaining about not being able to hear her show. Her voice grew softer as she explained about the plane, getting to Jonah's part in it.

"Wow, so you're going back to Boston? For how long? When are you coming back?" Dan asked.

"Weren't you listening?" Reagan shot at him, then rolled her eyes at herself. "Stupid question." She muttered.

"Hey, no sister of mine is stupid!" Hamilton protested. "Dan's just a bad listener, that's all."

Dan glared at him, but didn't comment.

Sinead bit her lip. "Coming back? I hadn't thought that far."

She couldn't expect Jonah to charter her back in his plane. She reached for her phone, "I need to look at flights for Saturday I guess."

Jonah rounded the corner on those words, coming from the direction of the studio. "Why would ya do that? I've already arranged for the plane to bring you back Saturday sometime. Just tell me when."

"Really, you did?" Sinead was normally a great planner, but she was glad that he was taking the lead on this. Her brain still hadn't calmed down from the call from Professor Caldwell, half of her brain on her project and what she had to do when she got to Boston.

"Yeah." He said, looking towards the door. "I think the car is here for you too."

He started to turn and walk upstairs but looked back at Sinead. "Hey I was gonna ride out to the airfield with you, so you wouldn't feel weird by yourself with my driver, but I really have some things I gotta work on here."

Sinead was already shaking her head at him. "You've done enough Jonah, seriously. Thank you." She met his eyes, hoping that he could see the sincerity in them.

He brushed it off, looking away. "It's no big-"

"Yes. It is." She said firmly, her voice caught, and she forced the emotion down. "You have no idea what this means to me."

Now she was the one feeling uncomfortable. But she shook off the feeling, stepping closer to him, needing to know something before she left. The others were surprisingly silent, watching them warily like they might get stuck in the middle of a fight or something. But fighting with Jonah was the furthest thing from Sinead's mind.

"I still want to know why." She whispered softly.

He frowned, like he didn't know what she meant. She knew better though. His eyes met hers again - still guarded - and she wished that hers weren't so red-rimmed.

"You didn't have to do that." She pressed, "Especially when I've been so mean to you." Her voice broke again, and Jonah's gaze softened.

"Look, Sinead," He sighed, stepping closer to her also, right in front of her. She waited, knowing that this was his chance to agree with her, to state that she _was_ mean and that he was just a better person than her - especially in front of everybody.

But he didn't. Instead, he reached a hand out and touched the skin below her right eye. His fingertips felt rough but gentle at the same time, and she froze, waiting for his next move.

But he drew back, saying slowly, "Here's what I want you to do. I want you to fly out, focus on your assignment, and not feel guilty or upset about this. I know we got some things to talk about." He looked at her sternly, and she nodded, gulping. But his face softened again and he said, "I get it though. You push people away when ya feel like they're getting to close, not wanting them to see you as weak. But I could never see ya that way."

She looked at him, surprised at his words, and how right he was. She did push people away, afraid of them finding too much out about her.

She hesitated, knowing she really had to leave and could feel curious eyes on them. But feeling impulsive, she stepped closer and pulled him into a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck. It was his turn to freeze and he didn't return her hug right away. But then he draped his arms around her back and pulled her even closer.

Sensing that this could get awkward (especially feeling his body so close to hers and enjoying it entirely too much), she leaned up and whispered in his ear, "You're right. I'm sorry."

Then she drew back, saying out loud, "Thanks Jonah."

"Um, you're welcome."

Was it her imagination, or did he look a little flustered?

Trying to break the awkwardness, she added lightly so that he would know she was kidding. "I think you did this partly because you knew that if I stayed you would lose the cooking contest tonight."

It worked. He laughed, the tension easing from his body. "Hmmm ya think so?"

She laughed too, and then walked to Amy and Nellie, who were the closest to them, not caring what they thought about her hugging Jonah like that. She briefly hugged them too and informed the whole group that she would return soon and to not have too much fun without her.

Amy nodded, glancing over at Jonah who was just standing there, and back at Sinead.

"Call me when you get there." She said.

Sinead knew that she would be in for it, her cousin looked a little too pleased with what had transpired, her jade eyes gleaming knowingly.

"I'll send you a text." She said, turning away, taking her mind back to the days ahead and her project. Everything else would have to wait.

* * *

 **:D**

 **The scene above is one of my favorites…I actually wrote it before I wrote the first 7 chapters of this story…let me know what you thought! Pretty please!**


	10. Chapter 9

**So this chapter is a little longer than my others. I just couldn't stop writing! Haha, hope this one doesn't disappoint!**

* * *

Sinead was finally back. She looked at the house from the car Jonah had sent for her, feeling a sense of deja vu, thinking back to her first time seeing the mansion and feeling intimidated. Now though, she was really happy to see it again. The last two days were a flurry of testing, analyzing, and hardly any sleep, so she was ready to resume her vacation.

Stifling a yawn, she thanked the driver and walked inside. It was quiet, most of the crew being gone for the day. Amy had let her know that some of them were going to Los Angeles to do some museum tours, and wouldn't be back until later that evening. Dan, Natalie, and Ned had opted to stay, and then Amy added that Jonah had been AWOL almost the entire time she was gone, being busy with stuff for his next tour that had come up unexpectedly so she had no idea where he was today.

With the thought of sleep on her mind she headed upstairs to deposit her luggage in her room - turning down the butler's offer to carry it up there for her - and ran into Natalie in the hallway.

"Sinead! Welcome back." The British girl said pleasantly.

"Thanks, I'm so glad that all of that stuff is over with. I'm ready for a nap." She said, thinking of the soft, fluffy pillows and comfortable sheets awaiting her.

Natalie frowned. "A nap? Why don't you hang out with me, Dan, and Ned today? We are planning on swimming in the pool and just relaxing a bit."

"That sounds wonderful." Sinead admitted, changing the course of her thoughts. Suddenly the pool sounded better than her bed right now. "If it wasn't so hot I would probably sit in the hot tub too. Let me change and I'll join you."

She quickly put her swimsuit on, not feeling weird about the scars on her arm showing since she was so close to Dan and of course her brother. Natalie was fine too, and probably would be too wrapped up in tanning to notice.

Catching sight of one of her big t-shirts on her way out though she grabbed it - just in case - and headed outside where she was determined to relax.

She splashed around a bit, then, putting her sunglasses on and some sunscreen (being a redhead was annoying sometimes) she laid out beside the pool where Natalie and Dan were sitting and talking.

"So how did everything go?" Dan asked.

She filled him in, but midway through her story a teasing glint appeared in his eye.

"How was it seeing Michael? Isn't he your crush or something?" Dan asked innocently.

Sinead frowned at him, not understanding where he was coming from. "Michael is just a friend!" She stated emphatically. "He may be slightly attractive, but you know how I am about relationships."

Dan just raised his eyebrows skeptically, and Natalie giggled.

"Hey Jonah," She said suddenly, causing Sinead to turn. How long had he been standing there? Suddenly overly conscious of her scars, she crossed her arms in front of her, wishing that she had put her t-shirt back on over her swimsuit.

"Oh, hey Jonah," Dan echoed, his voice still carrying the same innocent note. Sinead narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "Don't mind us." The boy continued. "We were just talking about Sinead's 'boyfriend' over here."

Sinead felt a burst of panic in her chest, what was Dan doing? But Jonah didn't seem to hear what he said, instead just frowning out at the pool.

At that moment Ned came up and joined them, looking at Jonah. "How's the recording coming along?"

"Not recording." Jonah said, "Just fixin' some stuff up for my tour. Change of plans. We're starting a week earlier now due to some mix-ups, so that means extra rehearsals."

He rubbed at his face wearily, looking as tired as Sinead felt.

"Well, ANYWAYS, as I was saying." Dan said, taking control of the conversation again, "Sinead has a boyfriend. Can you believe that?"

Ned shot Dan a confused look as Jonah flicked his eyes over at Sinead, not really looking right at her, then back at Dan.

"Ok?" It came out like a question.

"Aren't you curious about it? Our little Sini-pooh is growing up."

"Stop Dan, Michael isn't my boyfriend." Sinead said through gritted teeth, wanting to reach over the chair and knock the annoying smile off of the blonde boy's face.

"Why is this any of our business?" Jonah asked, sounding annoyed. "I have a lot more important things on my mind right now than Sinead or her love life."

The words, along with the way he said it irked Sinead for some reason. She stood, forgetting about feeling self-conscious in her bathing suit or about her scars.

"Well." She said airily, deciding to take the high road in spite of his rudeness. "I guess there's too much on your mind to care that I turned in my project in plenty of time, but thank you again."

Again, Jonah didn't seem to be listening to her, but this time it was because he was giving her a lingering once over, his eyes looking her up and down as if just now seeming to notice her there and what she was wearing.

Feeling the blood drain from her face as her heart picked up its pace, Sinead blurted out, "Did you just check me out?"

Instead of acting embarrassed like he should have been, or denying it (especially given the fact that Ned was standing RIGHT there), a lazy half-smile, half-smirk formed on his face.

"Maybe?" He asked. At her hard stare, he added, "Hey I'm a guy, it's not my fault."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You're being a jerk." She informed him hotly, grabbing her shirt and pulling it over her head. While she could feel herself freaking out, she knew that it wasn't just anger she was feeling. There was another emotion lurking, but she didn't have time to figure it out now. Turning to go, she shot a glare at Dan too for good measure before looking back at Jonah, who actually seemed to have snapped out of his funk.

"Hey, I'm sorry. Don't leave yet." He said, sighing heavily, his face turning tired again.

"Why not?" She asked, crossing her arms and trying not to let sympathy rise for him.

"Because I would feel bad. Worse than I already do. Sit down."

"Dude, I can't believe that you did that in front of her brother." Dan muttered, causing Natalie to hit his arm, giving him a 'shut up, you've done enough' look.

Jonah's eyes widened and he cursed under his breath, stealing a look at Ned.

The other boy was calmly looking back at him, trying not to smile.

 _Ned sucks at acting._ Sinead thought darkly. _He WOULD find this funny._

She sat though, reminding herself that Jonah had apologized, which was more than Sinead had done after being a jerk to him so many times. She looked at him now, taking in the bags beneath his eyes and the stress on his face.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.

"Don't. It's fine." She waved whatever he was going to say off, her anger fading. She really was tired of fighting with him. "Tell us what has you so stressed out. I'm usually the one dealing low blows, not you.

He made a face, but told them, "I'm being pressured to write songs for my new record right now, prepare for a European fall tour, and I'm also learning new dance routines. I know that I'm a Janus and it should all come natural, but-" He paused to take another deep breath, "I also have had several promotions come up the past couple of days that I've had to take care of. Interviews and commercials and stuff. It's just been a lot ya know?"

"Aren't you supposed to be on break right now?" Ned asked, sounding mystified.

Jonah looked at him, a funny look crossing his face. "I am on break bro."

Dan shook his head, "Not healthy. That's like Sinead when she takes 20 classes at once. She barely sleeps or eats or anything."

Sinead frowned at him. "I'm not that bad; besides, we're talking about Jonah right now." She turned to him, feeling the sympathy for him rising once more. "Is there anything I can help with? I mean-" She stole a glance at the others, hoping they didn't mind being volunteered, "We can help with?"

"Thanks, but I don't think so." He said, then looked at her quickly. "Unless you wanna help me with that song again? The one I showed you all the other day?"

Sinead paused, looking at him like he was insane. "The one I tore apart?" She asked skeptically.

"The one you were honest about." Jonah corrected, shifting his weight and looking back across the yard. "You were right about it, only I'm having trouble getting the message across like I want."

"And you think I could help?" She was still mystified. Why would he want her help after the way she had acted about it?

"Please?" The way he said it, with an edge of pleading in his voice, as well as looking at her again with those eyes of his - eyes that looked just as pitiful, all warm and dejected - caused Sinead's mouth to go dry (for some odd reason that she couldn't explain, maybe she wasn't drinking enough water or something?).

"Ok." She heard herself say faintly, automatically.

She hated herself for being such a sucker. But he was the sole reason that she managed to complete her project, so she supposed that she didn't mind. She looked away, not being able to hold his gaze, which had now lit up with pleasure. She wasn't used to giving in, even to make other people happy like that.

"So is there anything the rest of us can do?" Natalie asked. Sinead had forgotten that the others were there for a second and turned to look at the girl now, who was raising one perfectly waxed eyebrow at Jonah. She looked amused, but Sinead wasn't sure why.

"If I complete the song maybe you could go into the studio, my small one here, and help me with the music?" Jonah turned to Ned, hands in his pockets. "You and your brother rock at technical stuff, and Dan, don't ya play the drums? That would prevent me having to bring my peeps in at the moment."

"What about me? I play guitar a little." Natalie chimed in.

They all stared at her, her boyfriend included. "I didn't know you played the guitar!" Dan said, eyes wide.

"Yo, that's cool." Jonah sounded impressed. "I love guitar. We should jam together."

Something fluttered in Sinead's heart, but she wasn't sure what it was. It felt like her lunch had disagreed with her or something.

 _I shouldn't have eaten that sandwich on the plane. I knew it wasn't a good idea._ She thought.

But as she sat there, listening to Jonah and Natalie launch into a deep discussion about the instrument they both loved, the feeling got worse.

A horrifying thought hit Sinead then, was she _JEALOUS_? As soon as the thought came though she went into heavy denial.

 _Jealous? Of what?_ She scoffed to herself.

She had no interest in guitar, and she certainly wasn't talented in that department. She was just tired, and a lot had happened over the past couple of days.

Deciding that she just needed some space right now, she stood from her chair, wincing as it scraped across the stone floor of the patio. "Well I'm going to unpack." She announced.

Jonah looked up from his conversation, "Do you wanna meet me in the studio in an hour? Is that enough time?"

"That's fine." She said, heart beating at the thought of being alone with him, just now remembering that before she left Thursday he said that they needed to discuss stuff.

"Ok good. Take more time if ya need it, but I want to do this before everyone else gets back." He grimaced. "I've been ditching everyone the past two days and I wanna hang with everybody tonight."

"Hey we understand." Natalie waved it off. "But it is nice to uh, _hang_ out with you." She added sincerely, her voice faltering on the word 'hang' but managing to get it out.

Sinead smiled, thinking of how far Natalie had come from the entitled snob she had been during the clue hunt.

 _No, we've all came a long way. Even I have._

* * *

A little over an hour later, she was walking towards the studio, lecturing herself about calming down. But she couldn't. Nerves had settled in and were there to stay.

She spotted Jonah sitting down in front of a keyboard as soon as she walked in, so she went right up to him and stated, "So, I'll just get right to it."

He looked up at her, perplexed. She could tell by the way his hands froze on the keys as well as his facial expression. It was kind of cute.

"Our talk." She said, as a way of explanation. He was still looking at her like she had just sprouted wings. "The one that we need to have before we attempt to act like we are friends. The one that you mentioned on Thursday."

"Oh." A small smile appeared on his face. "You don't mince words do ya? You just get right to the point."

"That's the best way to deal with things, in my books." She said firmly, sitting down cross-legged on the floor.

"I can get you a chair." Jonah offered, but she declined.

"I'm fine here." She assured him. Then, not sure how to start, she started playing with the rings on her fingers. "Sooo…"

"I'll start, if that's ok." He said. She looked up, surprised, but nodded.

"I think I understand why you were upset that day I walked onto the patio when you were talking with your brothers. After the talent show, we were talking-"

"You guys were sitting around gossiping about me?" She cut in, feeling a rush of embarrassment course through her at the thought.

"Let me finish," He said calmly, "We were concerned so asked Ned and Ted what was going on. They just told us that ya were getting all kinds of degrees so that you can help them. Pretty nice; it makes me respect you more."

His words warmed her, and her embarrassment fled.

Jonah looked down at the keyboard as he continued. "I also meant what I said Thursday too, that I think you close down when ya feel like people get too close, or feel weak if you think you're failing at something. I know the feeling. So like I said, I get why you were upset then."

Sinead was relieved as she watched his fingers lightly rest on the keys, but then tensed at his next words. "What I don't get," He said, his voice sounding a little awkward, like he didn't know how to say it, "Is why you hated me right away. It's like you had already convinced yourself that I was a horrible person."

She winced. "Um, you may not like this."

"Just tell me." He sounded impatient, his gaze meeting hers.

She sighed, "Ok. Well I'm a pretty rash person. While I like to take my time analyzing concepts and objects, I'm not very patient with people. I was curious about you after the clue hunt, and saw a few of your music videos and interviews, even though your stuff isn't really my style."

"Which interviews?" Jonah looked a little embarrassed now. Sinead was almost fascinated by the slight blush that appeared on his cheeks, and had to force herself to look back up to his eyes. "Please tell me they weren't ones from the year or two after the clue hunt."

"Yes they were." She said, still eying him. "You came across as an egotistical jerk and I decided that I didn't like you. So everything you said or did the first few days we arrived here I judged according to those times. I know it wasn't fair, but..." She wasn't sure what else to say.

He was quiet for a few seconds, and she didn't know if she should apologize or what. But he said, slowly, "You know how at the concert ya asked why my music changed?"

She nodded, remembering that he had also promised to explain.

"Well, it had to do with those interviews. You see, after the hunt I decided to be a better person, but some things happened with my family. Haven't you wondered why ya haven't seen or heard me mention my mom since you all have been here?"

Sinead frowned. "No, I just assumed that she was busy managing the Janus branch."

"She disowned me after the clue hunt, and she and my dad are in the middle of getting a divorce."

She stared at him, speechless. _Disowned? By his own mother? Her and Broderick, divorcing?_

"Yeah, it sucks." He said in a monotone voice, his body going still and his eyes emotionless. "Nothing I've ever done has been good enough for her. Who cares if my tours sold out in minutes or that I won awards for my songs, Grammys even? Who cares that I learned how to dance and choreograph all of my own shows, wrote my own music and so on? All she cared about was me winning the clue hunt. And I lost."

"Jonah." She whispered, finding her voice. Her heart went out to him, what kind of mother did that? She felt herself getting angry with Cora.

"So I kinda went through a rough phase after." He spoke like he didn't even hear her, and maybe he didn't. "I threw myself into partying, girls, drinking. Whatever I could to get my mind off of how I let her down. Finally my dad sat down and had a hard talk with me and it brought me back down to earth. Sinead, I could have ruined my career, my life, everything really. I went to a counselor and finally dealt with my problems and it was then that I started writing different kinds of music. I still love rap and hip-hop, but I found that I loved dancing more and it helped me deal with things. Like an outlet or somethin'. So instead of doing what my mom and the branch told me to do as far as music, I'm staying 'true to myself' and doing what I like to do now."

He finished this, and then looked at her, no self-pity in his eyes, but like he wanted her to understand. She did, and she also wanted to hug him again, like she did a few days ago. She supposed it was the sympathy she felt for him talking, since she normally wasn't a touchy person.

"I still have problems sometimes, I have my jerk moments, like out at the pool," He laughed ruefully, "But I really am trying. That's why I wanted to have ya guys visit too. I need to be around people that can look past the celebrity image and just be around me. And I need people to tell me when I'm being an idiot." He looked at her and smiled. Sinead didn't though, she felt horrible.

"I'm the worst person in the world." She whispered, looking at her fingers again. She couldn't believe the stuff he had just revealed to her, and now felt guilty at putting him down all of those times, not to mention his music. "I'm sorry Jonah, really."

"And I forgive you, really." He said. "If I had just seen interviews too I probably woulda had the same opinion as you."

They sat in silence for the next few moments, each lost in their own thoughts.

Then Sinead said in a hesitant voice, "Why don't we start over? I really enjoyed talking to you after the concert, and you've already proven that you're a good person. I would like to have the chance to prove to you that I'm not nearly as mean as I have acted."

"I don't think you're a mean person." He said quickly. "You're just sarcastic, and ya don't back down from stuff. But I agree, what do you suggest?"

"Twenty questions?" She said with a laugh. "Or we could just talk about stuff, I don't know."

So that's what they did over the next little bit. Sinead felt herself relaxing as they found out basic things about each other (like each other's favorite colors and bands) then they got to the more personal subjects, like life goals and what they disliked about their lives.

"Definitely not knowing who to trust." Jonah said. "You never know who likes you for who you are or who is in it for the status or money. I've had people I thought were my friends sell me out to the media."

"That would be awful." Sinead agreed. "I don't know if I could live like that."

"What about you, is there anything like that in your life?" He asked her.

She hesitated, "I might be direct, but I don't like to open up emotionally to people. That makes it lonely. I have Dan, Amy, and Nellie of course. And my brothers and a couple of school friends. But that's it. I don't like to get close to people and give them the chance to hurt me."

She hated disclosing this to him, but felt like honesty was the only way to show him that she wasn't a horrible person, that she had emotions and fears too.

But he didn't seem to think any less of her, eyes understanding as he nodded his agreement. "Yeah that kind of ties into what I was sayin'. Trusting people is hard."

He looked like he was going to go on, but Nellie poked her head in the door, interrupting.

"Guys, I hate to interrupt, but we are about to go eat at Mastro's Steakhouse if you want to go."

Sinead jumped up, grabbing her phone and looking at the time. "Is it already time for dinner?"

"Yes, we can wait a few minutes if you need to get ready but we are starving, so hurry." She advised.

Sinead and Jonah did so, and an hour later they were all seated and waiting for their food.

"Man, hanging out with you has its perks." Madison stated. "We didn't have to wait at all once they spotted you."

He just laughed and said modestly, "I think it was because there are so many pretty girls in our party."

Sinead rolled her eyes, and saw Natalie and Amy doing the same. "Right, I'm sure that was it." She said pointedly at him.

He just smirked at her before returning to his conversation with Ian, who was sitting right beside him. Sinead wondered how Amy was doing regarding the British boy, and felt guilty for not having asked her.

"So, did you finish writing the song?" She heard Ned ask Jonah and she froze from reaching for her glass of soda. _The song. Dang it._

"What song?" Jonah asked, blinking at Ned.

Sinead caught the puzzled look her brother sent her, then Jonah, and winced. _This_ was going to be awkward to explain.

"The song Sinead was helping you with, did you finish it? Because I told Ted about it and we are both ready to help you out with the other part of it. I filled the others in also."

"Oh yeah." Jonah looked over at Sinead, just realizing too that the song was the point of their meeting earlier. "Uh, we didn't get to it."

Sinead noticed heads turning to look at him, then at her.

"Then," Nellie sounded confused, "What were you two doing in the studio for hours if you weren't working on the song?"

"We were just talking." Sinead said quickly, hoping that Dan wouldn't feel the need to insert any commentary in this discussion. "I guess we lost track of time."

Jonah was frowning, "I wanted to get that done today too, how did I forget about it?"

Sinead bit her lip, ignoring the looks that were being exchanged around them and focused on Jonah. "I can help you after we eat." She said, "Really help you this time, instead of distracting you."

" _Distracting_ you?" This came from Ted, and she didn't appreciate his tone.

"We were resolving our differences," Sinead gritted her teeth, "By talking. That's what I meant by distracting."

"You two resolved your differences?" Hamilton sounded impressed. "Wow, I guess that means peace for the rest of us."

"Don't count on that." Jonah said, amusement in his tone, "I doubt Sinead will be able to help herself in that area."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sinead demanded.

Jonah was looking at Hamilton though, "See what I mean?" He said. "She likes fighting with me too much."

She clamped her mouth closed and turned to Amy, refusing to take the bait, and instead asked her friend about the museums they had seen in L.A.

Amy launched into an explanation of their day, her voice excited as she described the exhibits. But Sinead was barely listening. She had that funny feeling again like her heart was going to burst out of her chest, and she couldn't stop thinking about Jonah's smirk, or the way his face had lit up when she had agreed to help him earlier, or of the empty look in his eyes when he had told her about his mother.

Feelings that she had tried to keep hidden, even from herself, were rising. And they weren't just feelings of sympathy either. Not knowing how to deal with them right now, especially out in public, she fought them off and won, catching the tail end of Amy's description of some art museum and launching herself into the conversation about it.

But all evening, even when they got their food, she caught herself looking at Jonah, wishing she was sitting closer to him so they could talk some more, or wanting to put her head on his shoulder (which looked so inviting for some silly reason). Where were these feelings coming from? What was wrong with her?

Sinead had the sinking feeling that she knew.

* * *

 **WHAT? Is Sinead finally getting with the program or is she about to make it all a lot more complicated? ;) :D**


	11. Chapter 10

**Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing!**

* * *

 **-Chapter 10-**

Sinead woke up feeling horrible the next morning. She managed to get through the evening at the restaurant and also the songwriting with Jonah the previous night, but it was like she was in a daze. Jonah had noticed and asked her if she was ok a half-dozen times, but she told him she must just be tired from the traveling.

But she knew what it was. It was confirmed during the songwriting process, every time Jonah smiled at her or told her thank you for her help, and also every time he had gotten just a little bit to close into her personal space. Her heartbeat would pick up, her palms would get clammy, and her brain would go into slow-motion.

She was falling for him.

The guy she had looked down her nose at the past few weeks, the guy who drove her insane with his arrogance that still popped up (that is when he wasn't being sweet, which also drove her crazy), _this_ guy she had feelings for.

She didn't know when it had happened, and tried to tell herself it wasn't romantic feelings, it was just her feeling bad about being so mean to him.

 _Also,_ the thought popped into her mind, _you don't connect with many people like you did with him yesterday, especially guys. It's just your emotions; that HAS to be all it is._

Clinging to that thought and pushing all others away that were screaming at her, ' _you're in denial again'_ , she finally got out of bed and went downstairs. They had decided that Sunday should be a lazy day, and Sinead had readily agreed. The only plans they had were to help Jonah with his song that morning so that he could join them in relaxing. Once the other cousins had realized the strain he was under they all wanted to help.

No one was in the kitchen when Sinead entered, and she breathed a sigh of relief, grabbing an orange off of the counter and sitting down, basking in the stillness of the morning.

 _Of course all good things must come to an end_. She thought darkly, as Dan bounded in the room, eyes bright.

"Come on, everyone's waiting for you!" He said, "Jonah wants you to be there when he shows everyone the lyrics since you helped."

"Is he in the studio?" She asked, wishing she could find it in herself to decline, to tell Dan that she was taking a break this morning. But she knew that she couldn't do that without having to explain to Jonah and everyone else why, and she wasn't a fan of lying.

 _Except to yourself._

 _No, you're just confused remember? You don't like him like that._

"No," Dan said over his shoulder as he exited, "Next door in the music room. Hurry."

She followed him more slowly, wanting to be by herself so she could try to get ahold of her emotions better before she saw anyone else.

When she walked in Jonah's face lit up. "There you are, c'mere." He beckoned.

Sinead made herself not react when she saw him, but _WHAT_ in the heck was he wearing?

She hadn't seen him in anything but his normal jacket or t-shirt, but today he was more casual in a wife-beater which showed off his toned arms and outlined his chest, and was that a _tattoo_ on his arm? Sinead would never admit this to anyone - especially Jonah - but she was a sucker for a nicely placed tattoo.

Not wanting anyone to see her reaction, she kept her mouth shut and her face blank, walking robotically over to where he stood standing by the piano.

His brows furrowed a little, as if realizing that something was wrong, but thankfully he didn't say anything. They showed the others the song, who all liked the changes, and then set off to make the music.

Jonah explained to them the process of laying and producing a track, which fascinated Sinead, but seemed to bore some of the others.

"I would have to go to a bigger studio to have the effects I need." He was saying, "But I am having trouble getting the melody in my head, and was hoping with Dan's drum playing and Natalie's guitar playing we could at least get somethin' going."

He looked at Amy, "I know you play the piano but don't know how comfortable you would be helping me. Do you mind trying?"

"Of course I don't." Amy said, but then added bashfully, "If I'm not any good though don't worry about using anything I play."

They set off and Sinead joined her brothers next door in the studio. The studio had a large glass window overlooking the music room with the instruments, but there was a door in between the rooms that could be closed during actual recording. She shut the door now and sat on the small stool behind the keyboard in the room. Her brothers were already discussing the song and possible effects that Jonah had talked to them about earlier that morning.

They caught her glance and beckoned her over. "Check this out." Ted said, "His music sequencer is legit."

Sinead rolled her eyes at him, "You're picking up Jonah's lingo." She said, but went and joined him. They filled her in on what Jonah wanted, but what Ted stated at the end bothered her,

"You probably already know all of this, seeing as how close the two of you have gotten in the last 24 hours. Has he already shown you all of this?"

"No," She said, trying not to react to his words. She couldn't play anything off around her brothers (they knew her so well) and didn't want to get into her confusing feelings for Jonah with them. "After dinner last night we spent about an hour finishing the lyrics for the song and that was it. I went to bed right after."

Her brothers surprisingly didn't comment further, and soon they had all made considerable progress on the song and were eating lunch together. Sinead wasn't sure though how much help they had been, it really was more Jonah taking the lead (being a musical guru) but he stopped and asked for input every once in a while. He seemed to enjoy their help, and Sinead's mind went back to what he said about wanting to spend time with them. She thought she understood now.

"So I know this is a free day but what are everyone's plans?" Nellie was asking.

"Dan and I are going out this afternoon to Santa Monica. Alone." Natalie emphasized.

Everyone laughed but said they understood.

"Hey can I ride with you guys, and go to the mountains again?" Hamilton asked, and his sisters chimed in that they wanted to go too.

Natalie sighed long-sufferingly but agreed. "We are dropping you off first though." She sniffed.

"The rest of us should go to a place here in town called the Ice Cream Lab and go get their ice cream. I promise there's nothin' in the world like it." Jonah said.

Amy frowned apologetically at him, "I was actually planning on staying in today. I need to unwind by the pool with a book or something."

"Me and you both sister!" Nellie said, and then Ian spoke up suddenly.

"That is what I prefer to do also."

Nellie eyed him suspiciously, eyes turning from him to Amy, but just said, "Hey it's a great day to do it."

That left the Starlings. Jonah turned to them, eyebrows raised.

"I think that I'll stay here too, Ted and I have to do something." Ned said quickly.

Sinead threw a frown over at him at his tone, not getting it. They hadn't mentioned anything to her about being busy. Then she realized that she was the only one left, and knew what they were trying to do.

She wanted to say something but knew that it would be awkward if she mentioned it now. She pursed her lips at Ned, but tried to appear nonchalant. "I guess that leaves me then?" She said dryly. Her brothers both gave her innocent looks in return.

"Hey, we didn't kill each other yesterday." Jonah spoke up, and when Sinead glanced over at him, she saw that he was grinning in her direction, not seeming to mind that he would be stuck with her.

"But there's always today." She shot back sweetly.

He gave her a doubtful look, "I think you're actually scarier when you're being pleasant." He said. "I'm not used to that tone coming from ya when you're talking to me."

"Hey I can be nice! I'll prove it; let's go get this 'out-of-this-world ice cream." She continued in her honeyed voice.

The grin returned to his face. "Oh so now it's a competition to see who can be nicer? I guarantee you I will win this one."

"Hey speaking of competitions, I never got my French food!" Nellie complained, "When are you guys doing that?"

Sinead looked over at her in surprise. "I forgot all about that." She admitted.

"I did too." Jonah said, "We could do it tonight?" He said it like a question, looking over at Sinead like it was up to her.

She shrugged, thinking it might be best to get everything she had to do solo with Jonah over with in the same day. Then tomorrow she could stick to the group and forget about her stupid emotions.

"Ok." She said, standing from the table. She looked over at Jonah from the corner of her eye. "You're changing right?"

He looked down at his clothes. "What's wrong with this?"

Sinead bit her lip. "Nothing, I'll be back in a few minutes if you want to go now."

She hurried from the room, not wanting anyone to see the blush on her face. She might be a redhead but she normally didn't blush easily. Being around Jonah was bringing out the worst in her, in more ways than one.

* * *

 _Jonah's POV_

As Sinead exited, he turned to the girls of the group, hating how one smart-mouthed redhead could make him question himself like this.

"What's wrong with my clothes?" He repeated to them.

He saw Nellie exchange a look with Amy, and they both tried to muffle their grins.

Great, now he felt self-conscience. When his cousins had first arrived he felt the need to dress a certain way around them, but he felt comfortable now. Or he had anyways.

Amy answered, "Nothing is wrong with them. Sinead probably was just having trouble concentrating. She has a weakness for guys with tattoos."

Nellie snickered. "Dude, she totally digs you too. Did you all notice how uncomfortable she was when she first saw you in the music room earlier?"

He felt the smile spread across his face, not caring how he appeared to his cousins. "Really?"

 _She digs me?_

"Yeah," This came from Ned. "Ever since she has come back from Boston she's been nicer and all to you, but I think there's more to it."

"Like she's interested in me? Romantically?" He hated to ask but wanted to know. Normally he picked up right away on interest from the ladies, but Sinead was different. While he thought she might be a little into him, he also had a hard time reading her sometimes.

More looks were exchanged, but no one said anything for a second.

"You need to ask her." Dan finally said.

"I can't do that." Jonah said immediately. "I've only known her about a week or so but what do you think she would do if I brought it up?"

A knowing look came in Dan's eyes, and Ned and Ted's too.

"She would get angry, deny it, shut down on you, and then continue the trend for the rest of the trip." Ned said.

"Exactly," Jonah stated, sort of proud of how well he knew Sinead already. "I'll wait it out."

"You like her too?" Amy asked triumphantly. "I knew it!"

"Well yeah", He said in a 'duh' tone, feeling a little weird saying it but not ashamed of the next words coming out of his mouth. "She's smart and beautiful and keeps me on my toes. I love how she's not afraid to stand up to me either."

At his cousin's smirks and knowing glances, he added. "I would appreciate it if everyone would keep quiet and let me handle it though."

They assured him that they would, and he hoped that they would keep their word.

Now that he looked back he could see his cousins intervening, trying to push the two of them together. But he didn't want Sinead to get scared and back away from him again, knowing how she was about opening up to people now. He wouldn't take it lightly.

He thought a moment and then smirked, jumping up and also heading for the door. "I know just what to do."

"Uh-oh." He heard Hamilton mutter, but he ignored him.

Sinead Starling had no idea what she was in for.

* * *

 _Sinead's POV_

It didn't take Sinead long to get ready, but she did take a few minutes pep-talking herself in the mirror, before scrutinizing her appearance. She decided to go for a laid back look, changing out of her sweats and throwing on some jeans, but keeping on her Jack Johnson shirt she had gotten from the concert the other night.

Deeming herself put together enough, she joined Jonah at the front door and saw that he had changed also - or had just put a short-sleeved shirt on over his wife beater. At least she could now look at him easier.

"Do you just wanna take the Lamborghini?" He asked. "This place is hard to find so we could take your car but I probably need to drive."

She shot him a glance. "You're not driving my car." She stated. "I guess the Lamborghini will do."

"Ya know, most people like riding around in nice cars."

"I'm not most people." She retorted, but then remembered that she was supposed to be acting sweet. "I mean Jonah _honey,_ I would love to ride around town in your Lamborghini with you at the wheel."

He just rolled his eyes at her. "Whatever ya say _sweetheart_."

Her heart fluttered at this, even though she knew he was just mimicking her. Stupid emotions.

"So back on the topic of you and flashy things," Jonah asked curiously, after they had made it to the place and were sitting down with their bowls of ice cream. "Are you just pretending to not like them because my ego annoys you or do you really not like 'em?"

"I don't like a lot of attention on me," She said, "So mostly that's why. Although your ego can get annoying."

"It doesn't seem to be bothering you too much right now." The way he said it almost sounded flirty.

She didn't know how to respond, and decided to change the subject.

"So you _do_ like flashy things. Why is that?" She asked him in almost the same way he had asked her. "Is it because you're used to it or because you really like them?"

"Both."

She waited, but he didn't explain.

He met her eyes, looking hesitant. She observed how light his eyes were when he was unsure of himself, but she held his gaze and tried to look understanding instead of thrown-off like she felt.

"You don't have to tell me if it's personal." She said.

But he shook his head. "No, it's ok. I am used to flashy things, but it's also a security. I know that sounds stupid..." He trailed off.

"Security? In what way?" She couldn't help the question from escaping and hoped that she didn't seem too pushy or anything.

"Well I told ya before that I never know who my friends really are. My mother abandoned me basically, and the stuff with my parents...it's like _objects_ in my life and my status are the only things that are constant right now."

She mulled over his words for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"You have me." Then, realizing what she said, she amended, "Us. You have all of your cousins Jonah. I know that we aren't all super close, like siblings, but you aren't alone. Now that I know about Cora-" She hesitated, feeling weird saying her next words, but did so anyways, -"anytime you're upset and want to talk or _don't_ want to talk and just need a distraction I'm here."

His facial expression was gentle when she looked back up to him, not being able to hold his gaze while she said all of that.

"I know. Thank you Sinead."

There was silence again for a few seconds, a thought hitting Sinead.

"Do you think this is weird?" She said, "That I already feel comfortable enough with you to say something like that? I normally don't even say that to people like Amy or my brothers. But I mean it."

"Nah, not after all of the things we discussed yesterday." He replied. "And I know ya mean it. You're not one to just throw words out there like that."

"How do you know?" It was disconcerting how he knew her so well after such a short time.

"I just do." He smiled as if he knew something that she didn't.

She didn't press though, and they ended up staying another hour and chatting about random stuff. Jonah noticed the time though and said that they probably should get back and start planning their dishes for dinner.

Sinead agreed, thinking of how strange it was that time seemed to pass so quickly when she was with him. He didn't even seem like a celebrity to her anymore, just a regular guy that she connected with. She told herself that this may not be a good thing and that she needed to be careful.

They were almost back to the mansion when Jonah revealed the reason why he was so stressed out about his new album.

"My other manager, not my dad," He explained, "Didn't like the song we finished last night. I called him while you were changing earlier and read him the lyrics. He thinks it's too emotional and wouldn't be good for my image."

She shot him a sympathetic look but didn't say anything, letting him talk.

"I wasn't able to get my dad on the phone, but I'm worried that he might say the same thing. What if they make me re-write it?"

"Can they do that?" Sinead asked doubtfully. Jonah seemed like he would have most of the power over his own music, especially since he was the one bringing the others in the money.

"Eric, my half-manager/half-owner of the record company I'm under, might could." He sighed then. "Nah, I'm exaggerating, probably not. But it's a lot of pressure."

"I think you're being an idiot." She replied.

"Thanks. You would." He said dryly.

"No really, hear me out." She said quickly, "I didn't mean that in a bad way."

He waited, giving her a look that said he didn't believe her.

"It's just, why do you care?" At his expression, she added, "Now I don't mean that you shouldn't care about your music, of course you should but who cares if some rich, uppity, pug - faced loser doesn't like it? YOU like it, and I'm sure that your dad will be proud of it, and of course your fans love you so they will love your song."

Jonah barked out a laugh, "Pug-faced. How did ya know?"

She joined him and laughed, but halted when he shot her a sideways look. "What about you?" He asked as they exited the car. Sinead swallowed hard, not expecting the question.

"I like it; I helped you with it remember?" She said quickly. "But even if I didn't, who cares. You're talented and doing what you love, everyone else can stick it somewhere."

"Wow thanks." He said, surprise lighting his features, but then he frowned. "Wait, did ya just try to HELP me? And give me a compliment too?"

Sinead pretended to be offended. "Of course, I always try to help out my friends."

"We're friends?" He still sounded amazed.

She looked down. "Well yeah." She kicked a rock on her way up to the porch and tried to make her tone light to hide her embarrassment. "We haven't fought in a few days and we just hung out without killing each other."

She peered up at him to see him grinning at her, and then he reached out and put his arm casually around her shoulder as they entered. "Soo buddy, wanna help me out with cleaning my room too?"

"Don't push it." She said, shrugging off his arm. She kept her face calm but inwardly she was freaking out over his touch, even if it was just meant to be friendly

 _Why in the world is he wearing fancy cologne like that in the middle of the day? He smells too dang sexy for his own good. Wait, SEXY? Where did that come from? And why am I even noticing something like what cologne he's wearing anyways?_

She hoped that Jonah wasn't able to read her thoughts right now, and quickly looked at him. He was just laughing though at her brush-off, turning to go upstairs, but halted to throw her a sincere smile before he walked up them.

"Meet ya a little later in the kitchen to get started?" He asked.

"Sure thing." She kept her tone light, making a beeline for the pool, where she hoped to find some of the other cousins.

 _Other people, that's what I need right now._

* * *

 **Looks like Jonah's stepping up his game ;) Poor Sinead, she doesn't know what to think does she?**

 **Oh, and I don't think I've mentioned this before, but in this fic the Starlings are just a few months older than Jonah (Their bdays are in March and Jonah's in August). I always thought that it was weird how much older they were in the book series, and always forgot and pictured them younger, so yeah. Anyways, here are the ages for this fic.**

 **Starling triplets/Jonah/Hamilton - 19**

 **Amy/Ian - 18 (OR I could say 'Amian - 18' ;D)**

 **Dan/Natalie/Madison/Reagan - 15**

 **Nellie – 24**

 **Extra note: The Jonah's POV I had to put in for part of a future chapter to make sense…I know it's kind of weird to switch POV's like that when I've been mainly writing from Sinead's perspective but that's why**


	12. Chapter 11

**Cooking isn't my strong point….so yeah. To all of you fabulous cooks (French or otherwise), please overlook any errors that this chapter may contain. I tried to research as much as possible but decided that cooking this stuff was too much work haha.**

 **Also I don't use cuss words in my conversation (I know it's against the norm) so although it's not really realistic to exclude them, I am in all of my writings. Slang will have to do.**

* * *

"So what are ya plannin' to make?" Jonah asked her thirty minutes later.

Sinead furrowed her brows, "Well, I bought stuff last week for several dishes so I'm not sure. What are you making?"

"I'm making a soup called Navarin d'agneau." He said with a smile, "It's a lamb, potato, and vegetable dish."

"So should I make an appetizer and the desert or something? That sounds like a main course."

He shrugged, "Ya know, we could just cook everything together, since you've never made French food before. I don't think the others care about judging as much as they do eating."

She shot him a look. His tone was just a little _too_ casual. "Already afraid that you're going to lose?"

He laughed, "No. I'll definitely win."

The way he laughed and said it annoyed her, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "The contest is still on. I hope you're used to losing _Wizard_."

At that she flounced over to the pantry where she had stored her ingredients for Pissaladieres - which were like tarts.

She hadn't been sure about this recipe as it looked a little difficult, but now she just wanted to wipe the arrogant look off of Jonah's face.

 _I hate it when he acts like that. It annoys the heck out of me._

There wasn't much conversation after that. Sinead caught Jonah eyeing her a few times but she kept her lips shut tightly together and ignored him, winning this contest being her only goal now.

An hour later, she had made the fillings for the tarts, and started to work on rolling the pastries. She was about 10 minutes into it when she smelled something burning.

Whirling, she turned and saw that she had forgotten to turn off the stove from when she was making the filling, and her pan was now on fire.

"Oh no!" Sinead moaned, running over to it, but halted, looking over at Jonah. His eyes had widened in surprise as well, though he was staring at the pan and not her.

 _Kind of cute._

"Where's the flour?" She asked urgently, pushing the thought from her mind as quickly as it had come to her.

He hesitated as if trying to think, then reached behind him where he had been preparing his own dish. Instead of giving it to her though he came over and put out the fire himself.

She watched him, her brain now in full-on freak out mode. Not just over the fire, but at the fact that her pastries were ruined. Jonah started to say something as he turned, but taking in her expression seemed to change his mind.

She sighed, walking over to the small table in the corner of the room and putting her head in her hands. "Go ahead." Her voice came out muffled.

"Go ahead and what?" He asked calmly.

"Make fun of me. Brag about how much better of a cook you are." She sighed. "Just get it over with."

She heard him walk over to her. "Nah, I'll be nice." There was a smile in his voice.

She looked up at him, but he didn't look like he was going to rub anything in her face, instead crouching down beside her.

"Do ya have more ingredients for the filling?" He asked her, a calm look on his face, like she hadn't just almost blown up his fancy (and probably multi-million dollar) kitchen.

"No." She said, wincing. "I have some stuff for Salmon Terrine but I forgot to buy Tarragon to put in it so I might as well forfeit now."

"It's not like you to give up."

She glared at him now, annoyed at his still calm tone. "I'm really not in the mood."

"I didn't know we were talking about sex." Now he lost the serene expression as a grin spread across his face.

She may have blushed or have gotten angry at a comment like that on a normal day, but she just looked at him, trying to convey that she was frustrated and that he wasn't helping.

"Look," He said, seriously this time. "I have Tarragon. You have to chill the dish for several hours so why don't I help you do it and it will be ready by seven, no prob."

Sinead glanced at the wall clock. 3:40.

"Are you sure we have time?"

"We will if we work together. We can make that and while we're waiting I'll show you how to make my favorite French dessert." He promised, standing up.

She felt herself relax, and decided to put her pride aside for now. "Thanks Jonah."

She stood also and added, "Oh, one thing?"

He waited, eyebrows raised.

"Please don't say anything to my brothers? I will never live it down."

 _Especially since they seem to pick up on my uh, sudden friendship with Jonah. They would definitely just make things worse._

"Deal." He winked at her. "Now let's go and wow the rest of the fam."

When he said it like that, she didn't feel so bad for burning something. Jonah had a way of calming a person down with his laid-back demeanor. Sinead wasn't sure if she would have been as kind in his position either.

They made the appetizer quickly, then Jonah showed her (more slowly this time) how to make Paris-Brest.

This was a bit more difficult for Sinead. Not because the dessert was hard to make, but because once her frustration ebbed away she was aware again of her attraction to Jonah. Just like the night before, she found herself wanting to be close to him. Only it was worse now because he _was_ close to her. He kept brushing his hand over hers when reaching for something, kept smiling directly into her eyes, and just him standing right beside her was throwing her off-track.

Unlike this morning though - when she had tried to convince herself that what she felt for Jonah was just a simple connection - she finally gave in to the message her brain kept screaming at her. _The game is up. You have feelings for him. You want to be with him, and you want him to return the sentiments._

Only Sinead was pretty much convinced that Jonah _didn't_ return any of her feelings. He flirted with her a few times yes, but she also heard him talk that way to her other female cousins (although she hadn't really heard him do it lately). Even so, it was a fact that he was used to girls and attention. And it wasn't fair. The _effect_ he had on her wasn't fair.

Finally, the dishes were all ready and they called their cousins for dinner. Sinead was both relieved to get some space between her and Jonah and disappointed that their time alone together was over.

"This smells pretty good!" Dan said, plopping down in his seat. "I was a little worried that French food wouldn't be that tasty."

"French food is AMAZING." Nellie said, eyeing the dishes appreciatively. "Who made what?"

Sinead glanced at Jonah, not sure what to say. She for sure didn't want to reveal her 'incident' to the whole table.

He smoothly interjected, "We decided to team up and make all three of them, since we're working on getting along."

Sinead shot him a small smile, hoping that he wouldn't be tempted to say more. But he only returned her smile, winking at her again.

Pretending that she didn't see it, she looked down and busied herself with fixing her plate.

"Wow." Hamilton sounded impressed as he took a bite of food. "I was with Dan, I wasn't sure if I would like this fancy stuff or not but you two did good."

"Jonah did most of the work." Sinead admitted, "But it was a lot of fun."

She could see Amy studying her from across the table and had a feeling she knew why, but ignored her. With everything that had transpired in the last couple of days (including her coming to terms with her feelings for Jonah and now coming to terms that she would never be able to do anything about them), the last thing she wanted was a heart-to-heart with Amy. She may have admitted her feelings to herself but pushing them down was the only way that she could see to deal with them. And talking would just make it worse.

Too bad Amy didn't share her viewpoint. As soon as dinner was over she caught Sinead at the kitchen door.

"Hey will you go somewhere with me please? It will just take a minute."

Her eyes looked determined as Sinead eyed her back warily. "Sure, why not?"

 _You might as well get this over with. When she gets that expression on her face there's no deterring her._

So she reluctantly followed Amy to the door as the other girl turned to her, "You still have your rental car right?"

"Yes." Sinead got the keys out of her pocket but didn't give them to Amy. She needed to be in control of something, and if this talk went sour...

Amy was talking again, "I saw this shirt the other day and am thinking about going back and getting it."

Sinead shot her a dry look. "You hate shopping. Why don't we just go sit at the park or drive around?"

"The park sounds perfect." Amy agreed quickly. "I can go get the shirt another time."

Sinead snorted but didn't say anything else.

It was a silent drive until they found a park. The weather was warm, but thankfully they found some shade at an empty picnic table by the playground, the area surprisingly quiet for a Sunday.

Sinead sighed, crossing her arms on the table and looking down at her shirt. She started playing with the buttons on the sleeve, waiting for Amy to get to it.

"So how are you doing? We've barely talked since you've gotten back from Boston. Do you feel better now?"

 _So we're going to take the long route?_

Sinead immediately felt guilty at this thought; Amy did really sound concerned.

She met the jade green eyes of her cousin. "I'm fine, really. I'm a little tired still but am relieved that it's all over with."

Amy nodded, and Sinead felt impatient, so added, "Thanks to Jonah, I know."

She saw Amy's facial expression change from concerned to slightly sheepish. She looked down, "So you know why I dragged you out here." She said it as a statement instead of a question.

"Yeah I know you too well." Sinead almost smiled but couldn't quite bring herself to.

Amy bit her lip. "Can you blame me? I asked you if you liked Jonah last week and you denied it, then you guys weren't speaking again, then you _hugged_ him Thursday which is so unlike you. And since you've been back you've been glued to the hip. I'm not the only one that's noticed the chemistry between you two."

"Chemistry? We don't have chemistry!" Sinead laughed at this thought, even as her heart picked up its pace. Did they? But she replied, "More like we argue nicer now."

"Yes but there's a line between arguing and playing around. I haven't sensed any real anger or annoyance from either of you since you've came back from Boston. So spill."

Sinead sighed, debating with how much to reveal to Amy. She knew that she could trust her to be discreet, but she wasn't sure how to make the words come out of her mouth. Was pretending like everything was fine really the route to go? She didn't know anymore, her earlier frustration and misery rising.

After a few seconds of thinking she decided to just spit it out. Amy was rational like her but being on the outside maybe she could give Sinead ideas on how to cope with her feelings. Plus, she had to keep her feelings contained due to Ian's girlfriend. Deciding to fill her friend in, she raised her eyes to Amy's again.

"This stays between you and me. Seriously you can't say anything to _anyone._ " She stressed.

"You know I won't repeat a word." Amy promised.

"Ok, so maybe Jonah is slightly attractive. There, I said it."

Amy raised her eyebrows disbelievingly. "Even I can admit that Jonah is attractive." She said. "But there's more than that, I know it."

"We've connected really well the last two days. We've even shared personal stuff and you know how I am about keeping things private. I'm pretty sure I have feelings for him, you know, like _that._ But I'm not sure what I can do about it Amy." She could hear the honesty in her own tone. "I get nervous with how well he can read me after only a few conversations, and when he's really close to me physically I'm aware of it the whole time." She groaned. "It's driving me crazy."

"Having feelings for him isn't wrong Sinead." Her cousin said gently. "You should talk to him."

"Talk to him? I can't do that after all that's gone on lately between us. Besides, there is no way he returns my feelings." She shook her head emphatically.

"Natalie told me that he insisted on you helping him with his song, and he sure didn't seem upset about you being the only one to go with him today to get ice cream. AND he apparently helped you cook today, instead of trying to win the competition."

"But he's nice to everyone." Sinead argued. "He let everyone help with the song, invited everyone to get ice cream, and only helped me cook because he was trying to make me feel better after I burned a dish."

After she confessed this last bit she realized that it wasn't a good one to try prove her point. Amy must have thought so too, because she was staring at her knowingly.

"Awww he definitely likes you!" She said, a smile crossing her face, lighting up her eyes. "And why wouldn't he? When you aren't fighting you guys are really cute together. "

"Amy-" She started, but was interrupted.

"I think you should go for it! What do you have to lose?"

"My friendship with Jonah for one! And I'm not good at relationships. I don't know how to open up, shouldn't my history with dating tell you that much?" Her breath caught, but she was on a roll.

"Plus Jonah is a celebrity, a _well_ -known one who is constantly around hot girls. How am I supposed to measure up to that?"

Now she could feel her fear of not being enough coming back full-force. Her cousin must have seen it on her face because she was staring at her in shock.

"You really do like him." She said slowly. "I know you Sinead, you're just scared. You said you have a hard time opening up to people, but really you've already spent more time alone with Jonah than with most guys and seem to be comfortable talking to him at least."

Amy looked away as she continued, "He actually helped me with Ian." She admitted. "That day you and Ned ran into us at the coffee shop. He could tell that I was upset and pulled me away from everyone to talk about it. He's really good at dealing with other people's emotions."

"He did? That doesn't surprise me." Sinead thought of how understanding he had been when she was freaking out about her assignment and even today while they were cooking. "But see, he's nice to everyone like I said before."

Amy shook her head. "It's different with you. He lights up when you're around him. And you're good for his ego, he's good for your temper, it's a perfect balance." She laughed.

Sinead smiled softly, looking away and pretending to watch some little kids play on the swing set, trying to hide how pleased she was at the words, _'he lights up when you're around him'_. Instead she focused on the other part of what Amy stated. "It's true that I don't hold back where his ego's concerned."

Amy chuckled dryly, "Trust me, we all know. And I don't know about the 'hot girls' he's supposedly around all of the time, but I don't think you could go wrong talking to him. If it doesn't work out then it doesn't, but at least you will feel better knowing."

"I can't Amy; I'm not going to be able to handle the rejection right now. Not while my emotions concerning him are all over the place." She sighed. "I know I'm usually upfront about stuff but this is different."

"Yeah I'm surprised that you're actually not in the denial stage still." Amy said it offhandedly but added before Sinead could question that statement, "So what are you going to do?"

Sinead bit her lip. "I guess think about it a few days. I don't want to the rest of the trip to be awkward."

"You think it will be like that? Jonah's not a bad guy Sinead. He's not going to laugh at you or anything."

"It's more for my sake." She said, not wanting to disagree with Amy again and tell her that Jonah probably _would_ laugh in her face if she confessed. "Right now it feels weird to be around him but not at the same time because he doesn't know. I mean, _I_ feel awkward because of these stupid feelings but he's easy to be around, if that makes sense."

"It does." Amy agreed. "Maybe you should wait a day or so like you said but I think you will drive yourself crazier if you don't talk to him. Trust me if I hadn't of found out that Ian had a girlfriend I would have talked to him. I almost wished I had done so before. Now it's just awkward."

Sinead felt a wave of sympathy for Amy. "I'm sorry." She said, "I've been so wrapped up in my own little world the past week that I've barely asked how you have been."

"I'm ok. I wish things were different but I'm glad I came on this trip, really."

The girls were quiet for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts when a horrible thought came to Sinead.

"He doesn't have a girlfriend does he? Jonah?" She was thinking that it would be awful if he did (for her own sake) but almost easier that way.

"No." Amy said quickly. "I asked him the other day. He's single as a pringle."

Sinead rolled her eyes at the cheesy saying, but inwardly was relieved.

"Hey while we're here, why don't we have some girl time? Forget about stupid guys for a bit." Sinead said, her mind returning to how she had totally forgotten about Amy and Ian. She may be confused about Jonah but that didn't give her an excuse to not be a good friend.

The girls ended up walking on the trail around the park, and talking about everything _but_ guys and relationships. Sinead was beginning to feel better about the whole situation, until Amy said something about needing to get back.

 _Oh yeah, back to reality and at least another week of being around someone I'm beginning to fall for but can't have._ She thought miserably. She then began plotting ways to avoid him without drawing attention to the fact. _I could just stick to the group, claiming I want to spend more time with the Holts or something. Everyone knows how well I click with them._

With this in mind, she happily walked back into the mansion with Amy, only to find that the others had gone out to some bowling alley.

"Do you want to go?" Amy asked Sinead. "I actually would rather stay in tonight."

"I would too." She answered quickly. "Let's just spend some time together. I feel tired from all of that walking."

Amy shot her a doubtful look, knowing how active Sinead was, but didn't comment further.

They settled in for a movie, and all subjects regarding Jonah and Ian were dropped.

* * *

 **So eventually (probably next year sometime) I want to write this from Amy or Ian's POV, just to show kinda -haha I sound like Jonah with that word - what's going on behind the scenes.**

 **AND I just started an Amian one-shot that hopefully will be completed and posted by the end of this month! I'm pretty proud of myself as I have trouble writing Ian's character.**

 **Also, (not to brag at ALL) but chapters 12 and 13 might possibly be my two most favorite chapters in the whole story. So stay tuned!**


	13. Chapter 12

**I spent extra time last night editing this JUST so I could post it today before my weekend got really busy. So I hope everyone likes it!**

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After a long drawn-out argument that night when everyone returned from bowling, the Cahill cousins decided to go back to the pier the next day. Sinead had been cool with it since all of them but Dan and Natalie had only spent one day there _and_ since it would be less obvious in a group setting that she was avoiding Jonah.

Now, having just arrived at the pier, she stretched as she exited the limo and gave herself a pep talk while walking slightly away from the main group.

 _Just avoid being alone with him. That's all you have to do. It's simple._ She reminded herself.

Frowning at a pebble by her foot she wondered if it would really be that easy when right this second all she wanted to do was to go find him. Then she was brought out of her reverie by Reagan's voice coming from beside her.

"Come on Sinead, everyone else is inside! We agreed to eat breakfast together before we all split up."

"We did?" Sinead questioned but allowed herself to be pulled by the younger girl into some restaurant that they had gotten dropped off in front of.

"Yeah, weren't you listening in the limo?" She asked.

Sinead was saved from having to answer by the hostess directing them to the rest of the group who were already seated. Avoiding looking at anyone (knowing _who_ her eyes would be drawn to) she studied the restaurant instead. It was nice - decorated in light browns, blues, and whites - but what caught her eye were the huge windows that showcased the beach outside, where people were already walking around and swimming.

Reagan halted them and motioned for her to enter the booth, which was occupied by Hamilton and Ian. The others were seated at a long table beside the booth, away a couple of feet but they could all still hear each other if they wanted to. Jonah, she noticed, was seated at the farthest seat away from her as possible which she was thankful for. She just had to keep this up.

The others were already discussing plans for the day, but Sinead's mind was still on the conversation from last night that she had with Amy. She tried not to, but her thoughts kept going back to Amy's words, _'I think you should go for it! What do you have to lose?'_

She sighed, stealing a peek at Jonah, who was caught up in an animated conversation with Dan and Amy.

 _I have plenty to lose; my friendship with him, my dignity, my self-esteem._

But she found herself wondering what would happen if Jonah _did_ return her feelings. Would a relationship even be possible? He was a celebrity, and she had her own busy life back in Boston. How would it even work?

She didn't realize that she was still starting at Jonah until he caught her gaze and gave her a 'what?" look. Caught off-guard by the gesture, she briskly looked away and back down at her tea, which actually tasted pretty good.

"What is this?" She asked out loud, trying to divert her thoughts.

"I don't know, but it is heavenly." Ian said, holding up his drink to show her that he had ordered the same thing.

She exchanged a smile with him, wondering if he had any idea of Amy's feelings for him and what he was missing out on, then realized that Reagan wasn't sitting beside her anymore. She turned to search for her and saw her walking from the big group table with a frown on her face.

"What's wrong?" Sinead asked her.

"No one else wants to go with me and Hamilton to ride bikes." She complained, a pout on her lips and her eyes cloudy.

 _No one else? That includes Jonah._

"I'll go." She said, "Why didn't you ask me?"

"I did, I asked you and Ian both. You didn't say anything though." Reagan answered, but her eyes lost the cloudiness and lit up at Sinead's answer.

Sinead flushed guiltily, hoping that they hadn't caught her staring at Jonah.

"Are you ok?" Hamilton enquired. "You seem a bit off today."

At her sharp look he added quickly, holding up his hands, "I didn't mean that in a bad way."

Sinead bit her lip, "I know." She said, "Sorry, I do feel a little weird today. Maybe the exercise will help."

It didn't though as no one really talked during the ride, leaving entirely too much time for thinking. At least the Holts didn't pry, either not noticing Amy's claims or choosing to mind their own business.

Hours later they had completed their bike ride and were eating a late lunch, just her and Hamilton - Reagan ditching them to join some of the other girls in shopping. They chose to eat outside since the weather was beautiful, continuing its trend of being perfect.

Sinead sighed as she felt the warmth from the sun and breeze both hitting the side of her face and neck and felt herself finally relax fully. As if reading her mood, Hamilton smiled at her from where he was seated across the way.

"I love being outside." He said enthusiastically. "Don't you?"

"Yes, it's really nice." She admitted, returning his smile. His attitude was contagious.

"Do you feel better now?" He asked, causing her to shrug.

"Yes, I needed that. Thanks for inviting me. I know that you and Reagan went a little slower than normal."

He waved her comment off by saying, "We like the company. I wasn't too sure about this trip, but it's turning out to be a blast. Jonah isn't as bad as I thought he would be."

Sinead blinked at him, surprised at his words. "You weren't expecting Jonah to be as cool as he is either?"

Hamilton laughed. "Nope. I just wasn't as obvious about it as you were."

Sinead winced, trying not to think of all of the instances he could be referring to. "I know, I was horrible."

"You guys seem fine now." Hamilton said. But then he frowned, the laughter leaving his eyes. "Or have you been fighting again? Is that why you've been so quiet?"

"No, no!" She assured him quickly. "I've just been thinking about some stuff. I think all of the socializing and being around everyone is getting to me. Not that you all aren't great, but I like to be alone sometimes too."

"Yeah," He nodded his agreement, "I understand. We could just hang out here for a while but Reagan texted and said that they were all about to go ride the Ferris wheel then everyone wanted to head back. She said something about Dan getting sick on one of the rides or something."

"Oh no!" Sinead said. Dan had probably stuffed himself with food and then hopped on a ride. It had happened before; not a good thing. She grimaced at the thought as she stood from the table. "It's fine, let's go find everybody."

They finished their food and paid, then walked towards the direction of the Ferris wheel. They spotted everyone out a little way, standing on the grass by the edge of the beach where it was relatively quiet.

As they approached Sinead noticed that Jonah was missing from the group but didn't want to ask. She didn't have to though, because Hamilton must have noticed too.

"Hey, where's Jonah?" He asked, looking around.

"Um…" Natalie exchanged a look with Dan, who was sitting on the grass and holding his stomach.

At the look Natalie gave Dan both Sinead and Hamilton turned to him. Everyone else was exchanging awkward glances too, like they knew what was going on but didn't want to say. Sinead felt uneasiness settle in her gut but waited to see what Dan said before she questioned further.

"It was just me and Jonah hanging out," Dan explained, "But he got a phone call right before we joined the others here. He seemed really upset and walked out that way."

He pointed towards the beach. Sinead could see a wooden deck a little ways off in the middle of the sand, probably where people went to look out over the beach or to wash their feet (those things normally had waterspouts), but she couldn't see over it as it was raised a little with steps going up.

"Who was it?" She asked, a frown crossing her face. It was obvious that Dan was holding out on her because more looks were exchanged and he didn't answer her right away.

"Who? Was? It?" She repeated, each word coming out like a question and worry evident in her voice.

 _Something about this is off._ She thought as Dan hesitated. _Jonah's pretty open. And it's not like him to just walk off without telling anyone why._

"It was his mother." Dan blurted out. "I didn't mean to see the screen but I glanced down and saw it."

"Cora?! She called him?" This was bad.

Now the others were frowning at her, probably still hearing the worry in her voice but now it was coupled with shock also that she hadn't even tried to hide - no, _couldn't_ hide.

"Oh no." She groaned, ignoring the frowns and looking over at the direction Dan had said Jonah went. To go after him or not? She took a small step towards the deck.

"I think he wanted to be left alone." Dan said, biting his lip.

Sinead hesitated, not really sure what to do. The others didn't know the full story, that Cora Wizard had disowned her son and wanted nothing to do with him. This call had to mean something awful.

"Sinead?" The soft question came from Amy. "I think you know more than the rest of us do. Do you think he needs someone right now?"

Sinead didn't answer, throwing her cousin a desperate, 'I don't know' look.

"Maybe you should try to go talk to him." Nellie said, sounding worried herself, her brows furrowed and her pink highlights glimmering in the sunlight. "I was walking up when that happened and Jonah looked like someone had punched him in the stomach."

Making up her mind, Sinead turned from Amy and started walking quickly towards the deck, not even bothering to say anything to her cousins. Her mind was on one person alone: Jonah.

She didn't see anyone on the deck as she approached but crossed it softly, trying not to step on any boards that would make noise. She looked at the steps that were going down on the other side and hoped that he would be there, not really knowing where else to look. But relief hit her when she saw him there, sitting on the bottom step and huddled in his leather jacket, staring out into space. He wasn't on the phone anymore, she noted, which was good.

Sinead cautiously approached and he glanced up at her but didn't say anything, looking back at whatever he found so fascinating too quickly for her to read his mood.

Sitting down carefully on his right, she looked over at his face. It was expressionless, his eyes blank as they stared unseeingly out over the water.

She didn't say anything. First, because she wasn't sure what to say. Secondly, because she didn't think that words were needed.

Sometimes when Sinead had something really weighing on her she withdrew and people normally left her alone. But that wasn't always what she wanted. Sure, she didn't want people to bug her about it but sometimes she wished that someone would just be near her without saying a word to try to comfort her.

So that's what she did. She sat by him for probably a good two minutes before a thought came to her.

 _Physical touch is how he expresses himself. That's probably what he needs, to know that someone is there._

She tried to shake it off, wanting to give him personal space, but the thought wouldn't leave her alone.

 _WHY did I have to read that stupid "5 love languages' book anyways? Then I wouldn't be aware of that kind of stuff._

Chancing another peek at Jonah, she noted that he was still staring off into space but instead of blank his eyes were now haunted, as if in a really dark place.

Sinead made a snap decision, and hesitantly reached her hand out and touched his upper arm with her fingertips. He didn't move but she saw his face flicker a little. Taking this as encouragement, she kept her hand on his arm and scooted closer. Then, just as hesitantly as she had placed her fingertips on his arm, she gently leaned her head on his shoulder.

She hoped that without using words she had expressed her feelings adequately enough.

"Is this a pity hug?" His voice sounded strange, breaking the stillness of the moment.

She wasn't sure what kind of mood he was in, but she wasn't swayed by his tone, answering honestly, "No, this just means I'm here."

He drew in a shaky breath and Sinead felt him shift. She couldn't see what he was doing, but then he leaned closer and buried his face in her hair. It took her a minute to realize that his whole body was shaking.

 _He's crying._

She was astounded, and her heart felt like it was breaking along with his. She wasn't sure what to do, so she just tightened her grip on his arm, pressing even closer to him and hoped that what she was feeling could be conveyed through that.

He still didn't say anything but tightened his grip also, clinging to her like she was his lifeline. Sinead didn't even care about feeling uncomfortable anymore (in fact that was the furthest thought from her mind), she was just concerned about the guy sitting beside her. Being a problem solver her mind was also racing, trying to think of all of the possibilities that the phone call could have held and what she could do to help. But as Jonah quieted, still pressed against her, she realized that she didn't need to try to solve anything. Being here with him was enough.

She felt her heart pick up its pace as the seconds ticked on with them still huddled together, but then Jonah pulled back, much to her disappointment.

"Thank you." He said, wiping his eyes, and then holding her gaze with his.

His eyes were red-rimmed from him crying, but to Sinead they were still beautiful, if a guy's eyes could even be called that.

 _I guess if anyone's could be, Jonah's are. Geez why can't I have eyes that soulful?_

"You're welcome." She said softly, her heart still feeling heavy for him in spite of her musings.

They sat there a minute, a comfortable silence falling before Jonah winced.

"I probably look terrible." He said under his breath, reaching down in the sand below the step for his sunglasses.

He put them on and turned towards Sinead. "How do I look?"

 _Wonderful. Gorgeous. Amazing. All kinds of other adjectives._

But out loud she said, "You look fine, like you have it together."

He laughed humorlessly, then stood, reaching for her hand to help her up. She grasped it (even though she didn't need the help), both loving and hating how the simple action made her heart melt a little.

She started to walk back up the steps, but he held her there.

"Wait," He said, "What about you?"

"Me?" Sinead felt confused.

"Yeah, you were acting kinda weird this morning." He said. "Anything I can help with?"

She marveled that he was able to think about anyone else or even had the energy to be concerned after what he just had went through. Although she still didn't know what had happened, it had to be pretty rough for Jonah to break down like that.

"You're worried about me?" She repeated. "Don't be. I have a lot on my mind, that's all."

He opened his mouth (probably to argue) but she shot him a stern look, cutting him off. "You don't need to be worrying about anyone but yourself."

"Hmm." Was all he said, but with his sunglasses on she couldn't read his expression.

They walked back where Sinead had left everyone. Jonah didn't touch her the entire way, but he was walking really close to her, a little too close for Sinead's comfort - in front of everyone else, that is.

 _But it isn't about you right now_ , she reprimanded herself. _He's doing it subconsciously. He needs to know that someone is near, that someone cares about him._

"Hey, sorry about leaving like that." Jonah was apologizing to the others as they approached, breaking into her thoughts.

They all assured him that it was ok and she could tell they were trying not to look curiously at him. With Sinead though, they had no qualms, staring at her like they were attempting to figure out what had happened. She just lifted her chin at them and looked back at Jonah who was calling the limo driver. He must have been parked around the corner, because the vehicle appeared seconds later, and Sinead breathed a sigh of relief.

She waited until her brothers and cousins all got in, not wanting to be trapped in the back and questioned. While she could handle them on a normal day, she still felt a little dazed over what had just happened.

Jonah laughed quietly from beside her, "Afraid to get in?" He asked.

Again, he knew her too well, which was unnerving. Choosing not to answer, she climbed in the limo. She sat directly at the left of the door by Ted, forcing Jonah to sit at the right of the door diagonally from her. She thought that the space would be good for her sanity but she still wanted to be close enough to make sure that Jonah was really ok.

He seemed fine though, quiet on the way back but contributing some to the conversation. Then they got on the subject of jewelry.

"I love your ring Sinead!" Madison said, referring to Sinead's blue infinity ring on her right hand.

"Thanks, it's my birthstone." She answered the blonde-haired girl.

Jonah reached his hand over, a curious look on his face. "Can I see?" He asked.

Sinead swallowed hard but complied, holding out her hand in his direction. Instead of just looking at it he picked her hand up with his left, studying it closely and then used his other hand to run his fingers over it.

"It's pretty." He came to the conclusion after what seemed to Sinead like ten minutes but in reality was probably mere seconds.

She withdrew her hand with a faint 'thanks', and busied herself with looking down at the ring too like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. She had just practically been in an embrace with him back on the deck, but his simple touch of her hand almost seemed worse in a way.

Ted leaned over then and Sinead stiffened but he only said that they should play board games when they got back instead of going out to the pool again or playing video games.

"That sounds fine." She said automatically, still a little off-balance by the events of the day.

 _So much for avoiding Jonah. But I'm glad that I didn't. He needed someone, and that's what friends do, they are there for each other._

Friends.

That's the word that she needed to keep engraved in her brain from now on where she and Jonah were concerned, because that's what he needed. A friend, not someone to confess feelings to him that he more than likely didn't return.

* * *

 **So what did everyone think? This is one of my FAVORITE chapters because I think it reveals Sinead's softer side and how she really does care about Jonah. (I mean, her initiating a hug AGAIN?) ;)**

 **Plus when I was reading the 39 clues - for the hundredth time haha - my heart really went out to Jonah regarding his relationship with his mother. I can see him breaking down because of something happening, no matter how 'unaffected' he always tries to appear.**

 **Also, the book I mentioned (5 Love Languages) is AMAZING. I normally don't read stuff like that but ever since I have I've understood people a lot better. I actually picked out Sinead and Jonah's love languages before I wrote this, just to be able to write their characters better. So yeah if you're curious you should go google it or take the quiz or something lol**


	14. Chapter 13

**This chapter was probably the most fun one to write. So much fun in fact that I've started to write it in Jonah's POV. I don't know if I'll get all the way through but it might be a bonus chapter later on or something ;) I'm starting to really like getting inside his little celebrity brain.**

* * *

When they arrived back at the mansion, Sinead caught sight of a tall figure standing and talking to the butler at the front door. Frowning, she tried to think of why he looked so familiar but Jonah cleared it up when he said, "Oh, my dad's here. I thought it was tomorrow for some reason."

"I didn't know your dad was coming here." She turned her gaze on him but he was already getting out of the car.

"Jonah said something at breakfast. You must not have heard." Ted said, motioning at her to get out of the car.

"Oh. I was a little distracted then." She muttered, but no one said anything. They probably couldn't hear her over the shuffle of getting out or they just didn't have a retort.

They trailed Jonah up to the door but halted at the steps as Jonah gave his dad a big hug. Broderick was grinning at his son but pulled away when he spotted the group and shot a warm smile in their direction. "Hello, how are all of you doing? Do you like Beverly Hills?"

"It's wonderful, thanks for having us." Nellie gushed, "Everything has been great."

Everyone chimed in their agreement, and the smile stayed on Broderick's face for a minute. Then, as they walked in, it faltered and he leaned over and asked Jonah, "Did Cora call you?"

Jonah stiffened, but glanced over at his cousins and relaxed, "Yeah." He said simply.

Broderick flickered his eyes over them as well, "Do you mind if I speak to Jonah for a minute? It won't take long."

They assured him that they didn't mind, and Broderick reached over and took one of his suitcases, motioning for Jonah to do the same. Sinead was surprised that he didn't make the butler carry them up, but then thought that Broderick seemed a lot different since the Clue Hunt too. She didn't even see his blackberry phone anywhere.

She walked quietly with the others to the den, none of them wanting to go up to the game room yet in case they accidentally overheard something.

They all settled in, checking on Dan, who assured them that he was feeling better.

It was quiet for a few minutes until Reagan turned on the T.V. to some show that Sinead didn't recognize.

After a few minutes a commercial came on and Dan motioned for her to mute the T.V.. She did so but frowned at him as if to ask why, and Sinead wasn't sure what was going on either. Until Dan turned to her, that is.

"Are you going to tell us what happened back there at the pier?"

 _He must be telling the truth about feeling better._ Sinead thought dryly, and raised her eyebrows at him as she replied, "That's really none of our business you know."

"So Jonah didn't tell you anything?" Ned sounded just as curious as Dan.

"I don't know any more than you all do." It was somewhat true. At least regarding the phone call. "We didn't talk that much; I just sat down by him."

"That's all?" Madison looked skeptical. "You guys were gone for quite a bit."

Sinead's face colored slightly. "That's all." She said firmly.

"You're blushing, what are you not telling us?" Ned persisted.

Sinead felt herself getting more annoyed. Her leaning on Jonah's shoulder, him breaking down and crying, even his hand to help her up - they all seemed too personal to share.

"I'm blushing because you are all grilling me. And it's an uncomfortable subject because it's something that's _none_ of your business. Like I said before, I just sat down beside him. He needed a friend."

"A friend?" This came from Amy and Sinead felt a little betrayed by her cousin, who knew that she was struggling with her feelings.

"Lay off." She snapped. "You guys should be more concerned for him instead of trying to nose around about what happened. Didn't you see how upset he was?"

She heard her voice rising, and realized with a start that she was feeling _protective_ over Jonah.

The others looked startled too, and she bit back a groan.

Of course her reaction made sense to her (since she had been the one to watch him cry) but they wouldn't, no _couldn't_ understand the feelings that were still churning through her.

"I'm going to get something to drink." It was either that or have to explain, and there was no way she was going to do that.

She jumped up and headed for the doorway, only to almost run into Jonah and Broderick as they were walking in. She hoped that they hadn't heard her, but they didn't seem surprised or upset so they must not have.

"Hey, slow down." Jonah said, sounding almost cheerful. The talk with his dad must have gone well.

Broderick chuckled, "Where are you going in such a hurry? Sinead, isn't it?"

Forcing a smile on her face that she was sure they would be able to see right through she said, "Yes, I'm Sinead. I'm just going to get a drink from the kitchen."

She didn't wait for an answer but hurried past them, hoping that they couldn't see the flush on her face, half anger and half embarrassment about her reaction.

"Did somethin' happen?" She heard Jonah's confused voice ask, but she was already kitchen-bound and didn't hear anyone reply.

She stopped in the doorway, lecturing herself to calm down.

 _The more you react to things the more suspicious it's going to look. You probably shouldn't have left like that._

But there was nothing she could do about it now. Sighing, she walked across the room and reached in the fridge, blindly pulling a bottle out of it.

"Whoa, you're drinking Ginger Ale? I thought you hated that stuff."

She turned to see Nellie in the door of the kitchen, eyeing her like she had gone mad.

Sinead looked back at the bottle, "Oh," was all she got out as she turned to put it back.

"Hey see if there's any of that bomb Raspberry stuff left would you?" Nellie requested nonchalantly, running a hand through her brightly colored-hair and sitting down at the table.

"Sure." Sinead said shortly. She hoped that Nellie wasn't going to grill her too, that was the last thing she needed right now.

"I know that you don't want to talk about it." Nellie stated like she had read her mind, "But I think that you're being a great friend to Jonah right now. Don't let the others stop you from being there for him."

Sinead almost dropped the glass she was getting out. Was Nellie really trying to be helpful? She didn't say anything, but pondered her words.

Nellie was right, what the others had said both embarrassed her and made her want to withdraw from Jonah the rest of the night. But that was selfish. He needed someone that understood, and as far as she knew he hadn't told any of the others about Cora disowning him.

She joined Nellie at the table, finally looking up at her. The older girl was calm, no pity or curiosity in her eyes, her dark brown eyes steadily staring back at her. If it hadn't been such a serious moment Sinead would have laughed. Nellie's solemn expression vastly contrasted with her bright, glittery eyeshadow.

Sinead let out a breath. "Yeah, you're right." She admitted, finally speaking. "Since when do I let what others say dictate my actions?"

"That's the spirit," Nellie said approvingly. "Now I think everyone else moved up to the game room to play board games like we talked about. You should go up there with me."

Sinead agreed and followed the girl up the stairs, and as soon as they entered the room they were met with smack talk.

"You're going down." Hamilton was boasting to Ned, sitting on one of the 4 benches around the table at the left of the door, where Sinead assumed that they were about to play board games. "The Holts may not have a track record of being as smart as the Starlings, but Cranium is my specialty."

Ned looked doubtful, and he and Ted exchanged smirks.

"It's on." Agreed Ned. "Who else is playing?"

"Oooh Dan and I will!" Natalie said for both of them, walking over to the table. Dan shot her a look, but she turned her head to him and fluttered her eyelashes. "Please?" She whined, and he sighed but joined her.

"Reagan's on my team." Hamilton said, then caught sight of Sinead. "Sinead, you should play too. Pick a partner!"

Sinead looked around the room. Nellie had walked over to Amy and Madison, who were sitting down and looking at something behind the table and benches. The walls were lined with books so she figured they would be there for a while - at least Amy anyways. Ian was standing and talking to Broderick over by the pool table. Jonah was standing beside them, but was frowning off into space, his face having lost its earlier cheer.

Sinead wouldn't let him get sad tonight or go back to the dark place he had been earlier. Not if she could help it.

"Hey Wizard, you're on my team." Sinead informed him, raising her voice so he could hear her.

At his puzzled expression, she said, "I'll take the brain questions and you can do the art, the other teams won't have a chance."

"Hey, no fair!" Dan complained.

"Uhhh what kind of art?" Jonah asked, walking over and looking hesitantly at the board. He didn't protest though, which was good.

"Oh just making things out of play-doh and drawing. Easy stuff for you." She said breezily.

 _It's like killing two birds with one stone. Not only will this help occupy him, but now we'll have a great chance at winning._

"I can't draw. Or sculpture."

Sinead froze, looking up at him. "What? You're a Janus!"

He calmly met her gaze. "A Janus that sings and dances. That's all babe."

She was too stunned to even register the name slip, turning to the others. "Who wants to switch me partners?"

"What?" Jonah sounded offended. "You wanna trade the Wiz off?"

"Well yeah if you can't help me win." She stated, but at his hurt expression rolled her eyes at him even as her brain picked up on how adorable that look was on him. "I'm just kidding, stop pouting."

"I'm not pouting." But he was, and knew it.

"Can we please just start the game?" Dan grumbled. Sinead knew that he would much rather be playing video games than this board one that Natalie had forced him to play. His girlfriend beamed at him now. "That's the spirit Daniel!"

A small smile formed on Dan's face in spite of his tone, and Sinead wanted to roll her eyes again. But she didn't, turning her attention to the board.

Then a thought hit Sinead and she sighed, fiddling with her game piece. She had been so focused on wanting to cheer Jonah up, she forgot that he would now be sitting right by her for the next hour, or however long this game would last.

Jonah noticed her fiddling and tried to help. "Hey it goes there," He said, reaching over her and guiding her right hand to the spot.

Sinead wondered if it really took him getting that close to her (where she could feel his body heat) and putting his hand over hers to move it, but didn't say anything. Jonah was actually a very touchy person, and considering what had happened just about an hour ago she didn't want to read too much into it.

"Thanks." She said instead, trying to shift over discreetly to get some space between them.

No one seemed to noticed, and the game began, her and Jonah getting off to a rough start. She was really distracted on one easy multiple choice question the first round due to him leaning in behind her to look at it, but they weren't behind for long, her competitive streak coming out and taking over.

Hamilton was pretty good at all of the categories, except for the trivia questions, but he and Reagan weren't far behind Ned and Ted, who were currently in the lead.

Sinead supposed that 3rd wasn't too bad, but she was starting to get annoyed by her brother's constant bragging.

"Ok," She muttered in Jonah's ear, right after Ted made _another_ gloating remark. "You're about to see me get angry at this game and win."

He laughed, "I've seen your anger many times, nothin' new."

She glared at him but said, "Come on, let's wipe the smug looks off of my brother's faces."

It was their turn then, and Dan picked out a red card for them, probably thinking that Sinead would miss it again, like she had been doing. But she was ready this time.

"Ok," said Dan, "Here's your question. Which beer was first brewed in Singapore in 1932?

A. Tiger

B. Cobra

C. Kingfisher

D. Sapporo

He laughed when he was done reading it. "Cobra, that's funny."

Natalie shot him a glare, and he quickly amended, "Not you of course, just your brother."

"Ok," Sinead ignored them, closing her eyes. She knew this answer. "Tiger." She said immediately.

Jonah frowned, "Are ya sure? That seems like a weird name."

"I'm the Ekat, not you. Let me do my thing." As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Sure, the others had been saying stuff like that all evening, but she had snapped it out at him, using a tone that she hadn't used since that night when he walked in on her and her brothers.

He withdrew as soon as she said it, she saw it in his face and body language as he flinched and turned away from her.

She winced, "Jonah, I didn't mean it like that."

"Whatever." He still didn't look at her, so she reached over without thinking and grabbed his upper arm.

It was muscular, and she was tempted to run her hand up and down it, but refrained, instead reaching with her other hand to turn his face around.

"I didn't mean it." She repeated, "You know how competitive I get."

He met and held her gaze for a few seconds, his expression indifferent, then looked down at his arm which she was still gripping. She withdrew both of her hands but refused to blush, sensing the other player's gazes on them. Across the room, she saw Broderick looking at them too, a flicker of interest on his face.

"Is that your final answer?" Natalie broke in, amusement in her voice.

"Yeah." Jonah turned from Sinead to her, his face and body relaxing. "Final answer."

Dan pursed his lips, "It's right."

Sinead let out a whoop and turned to give Jonah a hi-five.

"This ties us with Hamilton and Reagan!" She said excitedly, happy about getting the question right _and_ about Jonah apparently forgiving her for her tone. He grinned back at her and she had to make herself look away. Why couldn't she have dimples like that?

Hamilton groaned but Reagan said positively, "Not for long!"

But 20 minutes later, Sinead and Jonah were in the lead, passing Ned and Ted too. They were in "Cranium Central", which meant that in one more turn they could win if they got the next question right.

The others had gathered around them now, curious when Hamilton had to stand up and do the Haka for one card and had decided to stay and watch the rest of the game.

It was Dan and Natalie's turn now, and Hamilton turned to them.

"Ok, yellow for you two. Here it is." He explained the type of yellow card it was, then said, "Your word is Bamboozle, and here are the possible definitions:

A. Dance provocatively

B. Brazilian massage

C. Hoodwink someone

D. Wine made from bamboo

Dan stared blankly at Hamilton and then at Natalie.

"Do you know?" He asked her, and the younger girl shook her head mournfully.

Sinead smiled, knowing what it was, causing Jonah to lean over and whisper in her ear, his lips brushing against her skin slightly. "It's dancing provocatively isn't it? That's why you're smiling."

"No!" She let out a laugh, surprised at his words and about his lips touching her like that. It had only been an accident right?

Her response must have come out loud because the other teams shot them a glare.

Jonah ignored them, grinning at Sinead, and adding where everyone could hear him, "I can show you some moves later if ya want."

She didn't appreciate the suggestiveness of his tone, which drew another curious look from Broderick, and knowing ones from a few of their cousins.

"Can you flirt later?" Dan snapped, looking annoyed. He didn't wait for an answer, (which was good because Sinead's heart felt like it was frozen and she didn't dare look over at Jonah) deciding to guess, "Wine made from bamboo?"

Natalie disagreed, "It's too obvious." She said.

"10 seconds!" Hamilton called out cheerfully.

"Ok, let's go with C then." Dan decided. Natalie nodded, but didn't look to sure.

"Hoodwink someone?" At another glance between Dan and Natalie and nods from both of them, Hamilton frowned.

"Yep." He said, not sounding too thrilled about their victory.

Dan and Natalie celebrated, then Natalie debated at what card to draw for Sinead and Jonah, knowing that it might determine who won or lost the game.

"Just pick one." Dan said, reaching over and pulling a green one out. Natalie frowned at him but joined him in looking at the card. They both started cracking up, showing the card to the other teams. Behind them, the ones who weren't playing started laughing too when they saw it.

"It's an charade card." Dan barely got out.

Sinead exchanged an uncomfortable look with Jonah, but said, "I can do it."

"No offense to you Sinead, but I think that Jonah should do this one." There was a smile in Madison's voice, and Natalie agreed.

"Yes that would be hilarious." She said through a giggle.

Jonah shot them a wary look, but grabbed the card. A funny look crossed his face as he read it, and he glanced quickly at Sinead. She wasn't sure what to make of it but tried to give him a supportive look in return.

"Ok, the hint is 'a person'…starting now." Dan said, turning the timer.

Jonah jumped up, grabbed a glass that was nearby and held it up to his mouth, pretending that he was singing.

"Um, a singer!" Sinead guessed.

"More specific." Amy said, before getting hushed by the other players for giving a hint.

Jonah frowned and then starting doing some dance moves.

"Michael Jackson! Usher! Bob Marley!"

He shot her an exasperated look and hesitated.

"12 seconds!"

Jonah turned his back to her and Sinead was just about to ask him what in the heck he was doing when he whirled and shot her a seductive look, winking at her.

She was confused at first, but then her eyes widened in realization. "You!" She blurted out.

As the expression left his face and was replaced with a genuine grin, she knew that the game was theirs.

"Full name please, 5 seconds." Natalie said primly.

"Jonah Wizard." She shot at the girl, feeling a bit strange for using his name to guess at a game.

Natalie sighed in disappointment. "Yes, you two won." She glared at the board like it had just insulted her brand-new Prada purse.

The other teams groaned but everyone else laughed as Sinead jumped up and down in victory, turning to her brothers and gloating, "You guys didn't stand a chance. Jonah and I smoked you!"

"Ugh it's not fair, both of you covered each other's weaknesses perfectly." Ted moaned.

"We make a pretty good team." Jonah smirked at Sinead and added, "When we aren't arguing over something."

"Yeah when you aren't being conceited." She raised her eyebrows at him. But he countered, smirk still in place, "And when you aren't being defensive."

She kept her eyebrows raised but threw in a glare at that comment. While she wasn't really mad she had a reputation to uphold.

"He got you on that one." Ted laughed, giving Jonah a hi-five.

She now scowled at both of them in mock-annoyance, but turned to the others.

"We should play a big group game." She said, wanting to get off of the subject of her and Jonah and how they complemented each other. That hadn't been what Ted said, but what he had implied, along with Jonah's words 'we make a pretty good team', were almost enough to make her forget that she was _just_ supposed to be Jonah's friend right now.

They decided to play Apples to Apples, which ended up being really funny. Ian won, shockingly, and then Broderick brought up food.

"Food is always good." Nellie said approvingly.

Broderick mentioned Maestro's Steakhouse, and though they had already been everyone agreed, having loved their food when they went.

When they got there Sinead was debating on whether to abandon her "don't leave Jonah's side" policy or not. Since playing the games, she hadn't seen that dejected look come back in his eyes. In fact, he seemed relaxed and happy the entire afternoon. She looked at him now, standing with his thumbs in the pocket of his jeans, clad in his standard leather jacket and laughing at something Reagan said.

Her heart skipped, she loved seeing him happy.

 _That should be enough._

And it was, only she wanted him to be happy with _her_. Was that too much to wish? Probably.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Broderick, who approached her with an easy smile. It looked so much like Jonah's that it threw her for a minute before she returned it.

"Sinead," His voice was warm. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure." She responded, but her mind was racing as to why.

He waited until they stepped away from the group slightly, then turned to her.

"I have no idea the status of your relationship with my son." At her startled look he held up his hands, "It's none of my business, but your friendship or whatever it is has done him good. I don't know if you know what happened with his mother."

She shook her head quickly. "I know that she disowned him, only I don't think the others do. But I don't know what happened today, just that Jonah was really upset and I've tried to cheer him up since then." She ended the sentence in a modest tone.

Really, cheering up people wasn't her specialty and she wasn't sure how much of an impact she had on him today and how much of it was the rest of his relatives.

"Tried? You've accomplished more than I could. He should still be upset. But since the game with you he's totally acted different. Thank you."

Sinead bit her lip, shyly throwing Broderick a smile, not really knowing what to say. Hearing all of that from Jonah's father made her feel good, like she did something to help Jonah that no one else could do.

She ended up not having to worry about a reply, because the host returned, stating that their private room was ready. So far Jonah seemed to blend in with the Beverly Hills crowd, only having been stopped by a few fans in Santa Monica for autographs. But it was better to be safe than sorry.

Sinead trailed the end of the group and ended up sitting across from Broderick at the end of the table. Jonah, who was standing back from the others as they all sat down, looked over and brightened when he saw his dad, and came and sat at the end of the table between the two of them.

Jonah and his dad got into a discussion about his tour, so Sinead actually ended up talking to Amy and Hamilton, who sitting beside her and Broderick. Every once in a while though, she could feel Jonah's eyes on her, and it seemed like his dad would catch on and look at her too. She wasn't sure what to think about it so she just pretended like she didn't notice. This day had been a whirlwind of emotions, just like the last week had been.

The day passed uneventfully, ending with a late night swim and another bonfire. Sinead was quiet, much like that morning, but no one seemed to notice.

 _Friends._ She kept repeating to herself. _Friends, friends, friends, friends._

Maybe if she kept telling herself that, her heart would catch up and start to believe it too.

* * *

 **:D Have a great week everyone!**

 **To everyone in the United States, Happy Thanksgiving!**

 **To everyone in Canada, I hope your Thanksgiving last month was wonderful!**

 **To everyone else, much love just because! (See what I did there? ;))**


	15. Chapter 13 - Jonah's POV

**I already have the rest of the story written but due to the way I wrote it (random, out-of-order scenes) I'm having to do a lot of rewriting from chapter 14 and on.**

 **Sooo…..tada! Here is chapter 13 from Jonah's POV until 14 is ready.**

 **Warning: May be a little rough around the edges!**

 **2nd warning: Uh, Jonah's a 19 year old male….and we're about to get into his brain. Don't worry though, I downplayed some stuff haha**

* * *

 _Jonah's POV_

Letting himself relax after the assurance from his dad, Jonah led the way back downstairs, frowning when he didn't see anyone there.

His dad spoke up, "Maybe check the den or pool? I didn't hear them come up or anything, unless they did it quietly."

Jonah snorted, "Remember Dan from the Clue Hunt? Well not much has changed. I don't think 'quiet' is in his vocab."

Grimacing in agreement, Broderick fell into step beside him.

They could hear voices as they approached the den and as they walked closer Jonah could tell that it was Sinead who was speaking. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as his mind went back to the redhead who probably had no idea how much she had helped him back at the pier.

And then there she was, just as he and his dad were stepping into the doorway. She stopped short of knocking into them and Jonah resisted the urge to reach out and touch her, kinda sad that she righted herself so soon.

"Hey, slow down." He said.

Beside him Broderick let out a small laugh. "Where are you going in such a hurry? Sinead, isn't it?"

Jonah felt a jolt of surprise that his dad knew who she was but his attention was redirected when he saw the look on Sinead's face.

She was smiling but he could see the almost panicked glint in her eyes. "Yes, I'm Sinead. I'm just going to get a drink from the kitchen."

Jonah opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong but she was already almost running past them.

"Did somethin' happen?" He asked his cousins, a little confused by the way she had responded and looked just now.

"It's probably nothing but I'll go talk to her." Nellie stated, standing up from the couch, a calm expression on her face.

But Jonah didn't believe her that it was 'nothing'.

"She looked kinda upset, is she ok?" He demanded and saw looks being exchanged.

Suddenly suspicious of his cousins, he wondered if leaving Sinead with her them had been a bad move.

 _Nah, she knows how to take care of herself. But still, they're acting weird._

"She's fine. Let's go to the game room." Dan hopped up, looking a bit too innocent but Jonah decided not to pursue it, turning instead to lead the group upstairs, suddenly feeling really drained.

Although the conversation with his dad had made him feel better, he was still reeling from the call from his mother, er, _ex_ -mother. And then Sinead hugging him like that... Yeah it was a side hug and Jonah shouldn't have been as affected by it - he had gone a lot further than that with other girls - but her touch meant more to him than if it had come from anyone else.

 _I can't believe I broke down and cried in front of her. I hope she doesn't think that was pathetic or anything._ But then his brain argued, _If she knew the reason why she would prob understand. Although she acted like she already understood, even without knowing what the call was._

As the thoughts rolled around in his head he was vaguely aware of his dad and Ian standing by him and conversing, but he tuned them out, thinking once more about Cora's words. Dread and hurt pooled in his heart again as he rehearsed the entire conversation in his head and what it might mean.

He was so lost in his brooding that it took him a second to register Sinead's voice say, "Hey Wizard, you're on my team."

Team? He had no idea what she was talking about - he hadn't even noticed it when she and Nellie had walked in - but she cleared it up when she added, "I'll take the brain questions and you can do the art, the other teams won't have a chance."

Oh. She was talking about a game. As Dan said something in a whiny tone Jonah processed this and realized that not only would it be a good distraction, but it would mean him getting to be close to Sinead for a while.

Jonah was definitely in, but still asked as he walked over, "Uhhh what kind of art?"

"Oh just making things out of play-doh and drawing. Easy stuff for you." She said.

"I can't draw. Or sculpture." While her confidence in him made him happy, he figured the truth would be best up-front.

She stilled, her head snapping up and her green eyes holding surprise. "What? You're a Janus!"

"A Janus that sings and dances. That's all babe."

As soon as the word slipped out he winced, waiting for her to blow up at him. But she was already turning to the others, either not noticing or choosing to ignore the term of endearment. "Who wants to switch me partners?"

 _Wait, what?_

He voiced it, "What? You wanna trade the Wiz off?"

"Well yeah, if you can't help me win." She said. His feelings must have showed on his face because she rolled her eyes at him. "I'm just kidding, stop pouting."

"I'm not pouting." He lied, but inwardly was relieved that she had been only joking.

"Can we please just start the game?" This came from Dan, who Jonah was surprised to even see playing. But then he noticed Natalie grinning at him from her spot beside him and saying "That's the spirit Daniel!"

 _Haha, looks like he got suckered into this._ Then his mind whispered. _So did you. Although you're happy about the fact cause you get to sit by Sinead._

Speaking of Sinead, she was holding their game piece, a slight frown on her face as she fiddled with it. A thought came to him then and he reached across (noting that she smelled _really_ good) and placed his hand over hers. "Hey it goes there."

He knew that it wasn't necessary to keep his hand on hers as he guided the piece to the right spot but he couldn't resist.

"Thanks." She said, an uncomfortable look crossing her face as she scooted away from him a little.

Jonah wasn't discouraged though, knowing that she probably was doing it because of her brother's presence. Looking up at them now he saw that they were staring, not at Sinead but at him. Their faces actually didn't reveal anything, but Jonah wasn't worried. He knew that both Ned and Ted liked him (or at least were ok with him pursing their sister) since they knew he liked her and hadn't told him to back off yet.

"Jonah it's our turn." Sinead nudged him.

He pulled his focus to the card in her hand, leaning over her shoulder and placing his face right next to hers, almost touching her but not quite.

The question was something about science and Jonah had no idea what the answer was but was pretty sure Sinead would be able to answer it easily.

She stammered though as she said, "Uh, is it C?"

"Nope!" Dan said with a smile on his face.

Sinead blinked at him but as he quoted the right answer she groaned. "I totally knew that! What was I thinking?"

"Yeah, I think we were taught that at age nine." Ted voiced in a superior tone, causing Sinead to throw the card at him.

"Shut up." She sneered.

Her brother didn't even flinch and Jonah felt impressed - both at Ted's composure and at how smart the Starlings were - as he leaned back to his original position. Then a thought hit him, it wasn't his presence that had thrown Sinead off had it?

 _Oh well. It's just a game and being close to her is worth it. And it's kind of nice to know that I might have the same effect on her as she does me._

Sinead seemed to snap out of her funk though, and between the two of them they managed to get the next two questions right, almost neck in neck with the Holt team.

While Jonah had no qualms about getting into Sinead's personal space, he was shocked when _she_ leaned over to him, her lips almost touching his ear. "Ok, you're about to see me get angry at this game and win."

Laughing at the thought, he answered and hoped that she wouldn't be too mad at his words, "I've seen your anger many times, nothin' new."

Sinead just scowled at him. "Come on, let's wipe the smug looks off of my brother's faces."

He was going to reply, but as she shifted back her shirt - which had a pretty low neckline to begin with - dropped down a little, drawing his eyes to a place he probably shouldn't be looking in front of everyone.

Forcing his head up he noticed Natalie's raised eyebrow and knew that he had been caught, but tried to play it off with an innocent look - which she didn't seem to be buying.

Dan started reading his and Sinead's next question card then, so he turned his attention to him, trying to focus. The question was a really random one about beer, and also one that Jonah had no clue what the answer could be.

He did snicker when Dan called Natalie a 'Cobra' though, even though he tried to save himself by saying, "Not you of course, just your brother" when the girl glared at him for the insult.

Looking over at Sinead to see if she thought it was funny too, his grin turned to frown when she blurted out the answer. "Tiger," She stated confidently, her eyes closed.

"Are ya sure?" While Jonah didn't really care about winning, the answer seemed odd. _Tiger, really?_

Sinead's eyes opened as he explained, "That seems like a weird name."

"I'm the Ekat, not you. Let me do my thing."

Ouch. He hadn't heard that tone since the last time she had freaked out on him, back when he had saw her cry while talking to her brothers. Jonah tried not to react, but turned his head away, knowing that if he looked at her now she would see how much that hurt him

 _And the others, they don't need to see how you're probably over-reacting right now. Of course, this has been kinda a rough day._

"Jonah, I didn't mean it like that." He heard Sinead say. She sounded apologetic but he still didn't turn.

"Whatever."

Yeah, he sounded like a 10-year old and he really shouldn't be taking her comment that harshly. But she was starting to mean a lot to him and it hurt a lot more than if that tone would have come from anyone else in the room.

Then he felt her hand on his arm again, much like earlier. His thoughts froze as her other hand rested on his face, turning it to face her.

He was too surprised to resist, although he tried to make his expression neutral.

"I didn't mean it." She said, the apology now in her eyes. "You know how competitive I get."

He studied her for a minute, several things hitting him at once. First of all, she really did appear sincere. Secondly, he registered how soft her hand felt on his skin. Thirdly, she didn't seem to mind being touchy with him in front of everyone. He glanced down at her hand which was still holding his arm.

His movement must have made her realize what she was doing, because she removed both of her hands. Jonah wasn't sure then what to say, he didn't even know whose turn it was.

But Natalie's amused voice brought his mind back to the game. "Is that your final answer?"

Oh yeah. The whole reason Sinead had snapped at him. Deciding to trust her and her sort of apology, he turned to Natalie. "Final answer."

"It's right." Dan sounded annoyed, but Jonah felt proud at how Sinead knew the correct answer right away.

 _She IS a genius. But still..._

Sinead's whoop caused him to turn back to her, where she was holding up her hand to give him a hi-five.

"This ties us with Hamilton and Reagan!" Excitement rang in her voice and he couldn't help but grin at her. She was so cute when she got like that, eyes shining and face lit up.

 _She's so sexy. For real. And I really wanna kiss her right now._

As soon as the thought hit him though Sinead looked away, turning her attention to Reagan who was saying, "Not for long," a competitive glint in her own eye as she smirked back at the redhead.

Jonah's brain was a bit fuzzy for the next part of the game, although he did save Sinead on a horrible sculpture she made, guessing that it was a computer right as the timer beeped its last second and shocking the entire group. Sinead had been shocked too but beamed at him afterwards, making the offended feeling (from everyone even _being_ shocked in the first place) ease.

Then Ted drew a charade card for Hamilton and Reagan's team. The others huddled around and cracked up at the phrase on the card.

 _The Haka_

This was going to be good. Hamilton grinned as he read the clue and looked over at Reagan. "You'll get this sis." He said confidently.

The blonde-haired boy stood, got into pose - drawing looks from Ian and Broderick who were still standing over to Jonah's left - and started doing the ritual.

Reagan immediately called out 'The Haka!' and Hamilton nodded but kept going. By that time Broderick and Ian were walking over, chuckling as they watched him nail the crazy motions.

Behind Jonah, he could hear the three girls not playing the game in hysterics, Madison calling out, "That's my brother! Yeah!" as they walked up behind him and Sinead.

"Redo it so I can video!" Sinead said, barely getting it out through her own laughter.

Hamilton grinned and complied, and after that it took them a while to get their composure.

 _This is just what I needed._ Jonah thought as he glanced at the smiling faces around him. _I'm so glad Sinead picked me for her partner in this game. My cousins are amazing._

"Ok," Hamilton was still grinning modestly but picked a card and turned to Dan and Natalie. "Your word is Bamboozle, and here are the possible definitions":

A. Dance provocatively

B. Brazilian massage

C. Hoodwink someone

D. Wine made from bamboo

The two both stared at him with blank looks on their faces before Dan asked Natalie if she knew the answer. She shook her head but Jonah saw Sinead smile out of the corner of his eye. Deciding to get back into 'game mode', he bent over to whisper (giving into the urge and letting his lips brush her ear first), "It's dancing provocatively isn't it? That's why you're smiling."

"No!" She exclaimed, a little bit too loudly.

He pulled back but she let out a laugh, amusement sprinkled in her eyes. It was contagious and he found himself grinning back at her, the words "I can show you some moves later if ya want" slipping out of his mouth.

He hadn't meant for that to sound so _flirty_ and he noticed his dad staring at him, understanding starting to gleam in his eye. Oops.

Dan cut in before he could say anything to cover it up though, shooting Jonah an irritated look, "Can you flirt later?"

 _Thanks for calling me out bro._

He glanced at Sinead but she wasn't looking at him and he really hoped that what he said wouldn't freak her out so much that she avoided him the rest of the night. That was his biggest fear really. While he was confident enough to ask girls out he wasn't used to rejection, and he was sure that's what Sinead would do if he confronted her or asked her out on a date. Even if she did have feelings for him - which he was starting to think she did have - Jonah needed more of a signal from her before he made his move.

He heard an 'Oh yeah, I'm the best," from Dan and concluded that while he was thinking Natalie and Dan must have guessed the clue right. That meant he and Sinead were about to be up.

His mind was still whirling though, but laughter from everyone gathered around the card Dan had pulled out cleared his head.

Dan was laughing so hard in fact that it was almost impossible to understand him as he said, "It's a charade card."

Jonah frowned over at Sinead who looked unsure herself but volunteered to do it.

But Madison spoke up, shaking her head and disagreeing. "No offense to you Sinead, but I think that Jonah should do this one."

"Yes that would be hilarious." Natalie giggled as she said it, and Jonah looked at both of them, not having a good feeling about this at all.

Sighing to himself, he decided that it couldn't be _too_ horrible and snatched the card out of Dan's hand.

 _Jonah Wizard_

Him? It took a second for his brain to register but then he looked over at Sinead, hoping that she would be able to guess this. He knew that she wasn't that familiar with his 'celebrity' side.

She was looking back at him, her brows furrowed but shot him an encouraging look that said, _'We've got this'_.

Jonah had no more time to think though because Dan said, "Ok, the hint is 'a person', starting now."

 _I just gotta be me. That's all._

With that thought firmly in place he grabbed a glass off of the table and pretended to sing.

"Um, a singer!" Sinead shot out.

Amy helped a little with a "More specific" but Jonah knew than that he would have to step his game up.

 _Surely she's seen me dance before right? I mean, I AM the #1 star on the planet right now._

But it was obvious she hadn't when she started calling random names out. He tried not to feel offended but he had _invented_ that last step, thank you very much. And she had guessed Usher? Really?

He shot her an impatient look but she just blinked back at him, a panicked look on her face. Then a thought came to him. But should he do it?

"12 seconds!"

Yes, he definitely should. Turning his back to her and putting on his best 'I'm sexy and I know it' face, he whirled and aimed it in her direction, following it with a wink.

She gaped at him, and then her eyes lit up as it dawned on her. "You!"

A grin split his face. _You're not the only one who's a genius babe. Sometimes I can be too._

"Full name please, 5 seconds." Natalie said, like that would hinder Sinead from guessing correctly.

Sinead made a face but said, "Jonah Wizard."

"Yes, you two won." Natalie complained but Jonah didn't even spare her a glance. He was too busy watching as Sinead jumped up from the seat and then up and down in a victory dance.

He just kept grinning but walked over to stand by her noticing that the other were standing up too (even though they were grumbling about losing).

He didn't really care who won, but it made him feel good to see Sinead so happy over it, especially as she turned to her brothers and said triumphantly, "You guys didn't stand a chance. Jonah and I smoked you!"

"Ugh it's not fair, both of you covered each other's weaknesses perfectly." Ted said it in a whiny voice but Jonah took it as a compliment.

Smirking over at Sinead he pointed out, "We make a pretty good team. When we aren't arguing over something."

But she only raised her eyebrows and shot back, "Yeah when you aren't being conceited."

He loved sparring with her when it was like this, no real anger between them. It almost felt like they were flirting so Jonah had to comment back. "And when you aren't being defensive."

Green eyes glared into his and - just like earlier - Jonah had to fight the urge to lean over and kiss her.

 _I bet I could make her forget all about being angry. Heck, I bet my private plane I could make her forget her own name._

Ted's laughter broke in to his thoughts (which were going down a dangerous trail). "He got you on that one." He told his sister as he leaned over to give Jonah a hi-five.

Sinead turned her eyes from Jonah to Ted and then chose to ignore them, since she changed the subject and asked everyone if they wanted to play another game.

After that Jonah tried to focus on the rest of his cousins, and since he ended up sitting far away from Sinead it was a little bit easier to do.

It wasn't until they arrived at the restaurant and were waiting to be seated that his mind went back to the phone call but he knew that it wouldn't be good to dwell on that. Instead, he walked over to where Reagan and Amy were standing and joined their conversation.

They both smiled at him as he approached and he felt a rush of affection for them. Amy, because she was the first one that he really bonded with on this trip and Reagan because she was just too cool, almost like a little sister. Not for the first time, Jonah wished that he at least had one sibling.

"Jonah, we were just talking about you!" The younger girl said, eyes lighting up with laughter.

"Oh no." He teased, "What did I do now?"

"It's what you didn't do." Amy's eyes were lit with humor too. "We were just stating that it's unacceptable for the staff to make us wait for more than 5 seconds and that they must not have spotted you."

"Maybe it's because the host is a male." Reagan's comment, along with the dry tone she said it in was enough to make Jonah laugh.

" _Or,"_ He said smoothly, "It's because he wants to look at you pretty girls longer."

Now both girls laughed, not stopping until another smooth voice added, "It's probably the truth though."

Ian had walked up and now was positioned between Jonah and Amy, but his eyes were lingering on Amy's form. "I think blue is your color. Very lovely"

"Uh, thank you." Amy sounded flustered as Reagan just raised an eyebrow at Ian.

He caught her glance and quickly added, "You look wonderful as well Reagan."

 _Nice try. But I don't think you quite managed to cover up that one man._ Jonah thought, amused and sympathetic.

He really felt bad for Amy and wanted to tell Ian what a wonderful person he was missing out on dating. But knowing that the British boy was in a relationship held him back. Besides, it was none of his business, and he had his own love life to worry about.

Speaking of his love life...his eyes found Sinead and was stunned to see her over talking to his dad. Wondering if he should go intervene - not really being able to read either of their expressions from so far away - he started to excuse himself from the awkward stare-down that was happening in front of him when the host returned.

Having no choice he followed the man but held back from sitting down, trying to be unobvious but wanting to sit by Sinead.

Then he spotted her at the other end of the table, sitting across from his dad. Perfect. Trying to play it off like he was going over solely to sit by his dad, he smiled at him as he made his way over there.

He must have been _too_ believable because (much to his frustration) as soon as Jonah sat down his dad started talking about the tour and he was forced into conversation with him. He did sneak quite a few looks over at Sinead though, and thought he managed to pull it off unnoticed until Broderick cleared his throat.

"So do you want to talk about it?"

"Huh? Talk about what?" He knew he had failed _miserably_ to hide the panicked note in his voice when his dad raised an eyebrow and he caught Amy smirking at him from a couple seats down.

"Your dance for that song. What else?" Now his dad sound amused.

Yep. Jonah needed to take more acting classes. He couldn't believe that _one_ female could affect him this badly. Meeting his dad's eyes, he agreed, knowing that as soon as Broderick got the opportunity though he was going to grill him about Sinead.

But surprisingly, his dad didn't say a word to him about it, even later that night when they both happened to be in the kitchen at the same time getting drinks. Breathing a sigh of relief Jonah let himself get caught up in visiting with his cousins again, refusing to let his mind go anywhere else the entire night.

After the emotional roller coaster he had been on - not just the talk with Cora and his breaking down but feeling so connected to Sinead like that, the flirting during the game, the _feelings_ that were overtaking him more and more each time he was near her (going way past just the physical attraction he was used to) - he allowed his mind to relax and just take in one moment at a time.

* * *

 **Whew! So I hope that wasn't too rough. It was a little different writing the** **exact** **same stuff from Jonah's viewpoint without it feeling repetitive...but there it is!**

 **Oh and to all of you Amian shippers, I am still working diligently on my one-shot! I was stuck for a few days and finally got through a really bad writer's block, only to come across another...ugh #perfectionistprobs**


	16. Chapter 14

**About the performance mentioned in this chapter - I was inspired by Chris Brown's 2012 Grammy performance. I was on YouTube one day, saw the video, and IMMEDIATELY thought 'This is such a Jonah Wizard performance', simply because of the flashiness. Haha so yeah if you decide to check it out and can't relate the singing/dancing/etc. to Jonah, at least notate the 'Wizardness' of it lol**

 **I actually get a lot of inspiration from YouTube videos and song lyrics, even though I really don't care for song fics. (WEIRD I KNOW)**

* * *

"So when are you going to teach me some more dance moves?" Dan asked Jonah the next morning at breakfast.

Jonah shrugged his shoulders as he set his fork down and reached for his soda. "I have a promotional interview this afternoon, but this evening I can teach you some stuff."

"Ok cool! Can you show me some of the moves from your Grammy performance this year?" Dan enquired, his eyes lighting up.

"Yeah, no prob." Jonah assured him, smiling at Dan, probably picking up on his excitement. Sinead noted with amusement that the younger boy was practically bouncing in his seat, and wondered briefly if it was partly due to the amount of pancakes he had just consumed.

"You performed at the Grammys?" Reagan asked, sounding impressed. "That's awesome."

Dan stared at her, looking almost offended on Jonah's behalf. "You didn't see it? What? Who else hasn't?"

Most of the table chimed in that they had, and it was 'totally awesome dude' (Nellie), and 'Pretty sweet' (Madison).

Sinead shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to be the only one besides Reagan to confess that she had missed it. But Ned spoke up first and said that he hadn't seen it either, and then he turned to her. "Did you? You've been so busy this year; I don't even think I've seen you in front of a T.V. in ages."

Sinead shook her head, "I didn't." She admitted, feeling guilty, but told herself that was a ridiculous feeling. She _had_ been swamped with schoolwork all year, and didn't even realize the Grammys had happened until it was over with.

"You guys have got to pull it up on YouTube." Dan said, throwing them a sympathetic look, like they had missed the zombie apocalypse. Shaking his head, he added, "It was epic."

Broderick spoke up for the first time that morning. Sinead thought that he hadn't been paying attention to their conversation, but considering it was Jonah (and something that had to do with his career) they were talking about she supposed that it wasn't too abnormal.

"Hey, have you all checked out the theatre room yet?"

They said that they hadn't, shooting him confused looks since it had nothing to do with the Grammys or Jonah's dancing.

"We have the Grammys on DVD, why don't we all go watch it after breakfast?" He turned to Jonah, "Maybe it will help you get inspired for that dance for your new song you're stressing over."

He pursed his lips, looking reluctant, but agreed. Sinead noticed that while Jonah was still arrogant at times and had no trouble taking compliments from his fans, he acted a little more modest around them. But just a little.

"Sweet!" Madison said, "Can we watch a movie in there too? Like after?"

"Oh yeah that would be cool." Amy agreed. "We could watch a historical documentary or something."

Madison shot her a look, but didn't say anything.

Dan however, didn't hold back. "A historical documentary? Why would we want to watch something boring like that?"

"Yeah I agree." Ned said. "Let's watch something action-packed."

Amy's face fell, and Sinead was just about to jump to her defense when another voice beat her to it.

"And whatever is wrong with what Amy mentioned?" Ian asked, a frown crossing his face. "As Cahill's we all know how important history is."

"Yeah, like _way_ too much." Dan stressed, shooting Ian an annoyed look. "And it's kind of weird that you all of a sudden decided to converse for the first time today."

"Dan." Amy said through gritted teeth, and Sinead thought that her cousin might be blushing.

Quickly deciding to intervene, she spoke up, directing her comment to Ian. "I actually agree with Ian. There isn't anything wrong with history. But I think we should let the oldest person in the room decide what to watch."

Grinning at Broderick when she caught his startled expression she tilted her head towards him.

"Uh, I don't think I'll be any help there." He laughed, smiling at Sinead. "I think you should pick."

"Yeah, you're the most intimidating out of all of us and no one would probably argue with you." Jonah added, causing Sinead's eyes to flash dangerously in his direction.

"See?" Jonah didn't look fazed, instead looking around the room. "All in favor say aye."

"Aye." Almost everyone chimed in, with the exception of Dan who was scowling at her.

Pressing her lips together she decided to turn her attention back to her plate, not sure if Jonah had just complimented or insulted her.

"It was a compliment Sinead." He said suddenly, as if reading her mind.

Her eyes flew to his and she saw that he was serious. Great, now it was just awkward. "Um, thanks." She responded, but dropped her eyes back down.

She heard Dan let out a sigh. "Sinead _please_ pick something cool."

Glad for his comment she smirked at him. "I already know what movie I'm picking. Don't worry, everyone will like it."

Ted eyed her, "I don't trust that look sis. But I guess we can always choose to _not_ watch it."

"Yes you can." She met his eyes but they both ended up grinning, not being able to hold the mock-exasperated expressions.

 _I need to spend more time with my brothers while I'm here._ She thought suddenly. _I've been so caught up in fighting with myself about my feelings that I've barely talked to them._

She made a mental note to talk to them about just the three of them hanging out soon, thinking that it would be a welcome distraction from everything.

* * *

Following breakfast, they made their way into the theatre room, which was large and really nice. Sinead hadn't really payed attention during the tour Jonah gave them the first day - back when she was still trying to _not_ be impressed by anything related to him - but she glanced around now. The wallpaper was a gray and black geometric pattern which she actually thought looked nice and the theatre system had a modern vibe to it. But the bright red chairs made her chuckle.

"What?" Amy asked from beside her as they settled into the comfortable seats.

"Nothing." She brushed it off, looking down at the chairs. "Uh, are these massage chairs?"

"Yep. Wow why haven't we been in here before?" Nellie groaned and then directed the next comment to Broderick, who was sitting beside her, a row in front of Sinead. "Your designers know what they're doing."

He thanked her for the compliment and Sinead was just about to make a snide remark about the color choice when the show started. Jonah had gone to the front as they were sitting down to start the DVD and now scanned the room for an empty chair.

There were three available ones - and one right by Dan at the front - but _of course_ he had to choose the one by her on the end of the aisle.

He grinned at her when he sat down and she couldn't resist whispering to him. "Red massage chairs Jonah, really?"

Her whisper must have been loud because Nellie turned around, her voice horrified. "You're knocking the chairs?"

"Of course not." Sinead turned her gaze to the screen but caught Jonah's low reply.

"Why not? I love the color red after all."

She could hear the smirk in his voice and wondered if he was trying to flirt with her. But feeling unsettled at the fact that he would be sitting right by her for the next hour and not wanting it to end up like the other night, she decided to ignore him.

So she settled in and took the award show in stride, not freaking out over the celebrities like some of the others did. Until they got to Bruno Mars, that is.

"I LOVE his voice." Sinead commented.

"His eyes are dreamy too." Nellie's _voice_ sounded dreamy. She sighed, "Too bad he's too short for me."

"I thought you didn't like that type of music Sinead." Dan put it, and Jonah agreed, looking over at her and adding, "I have a song or two similar to some of his. The genre at least."

Sinead frowned, feeling trapped and not liking it. "Oh," was all she said though, and everyone gradually turned their attention back to the Grammys.

It was at the very end of the show that Jonah's performance was announced, and Sinead had to admit that it was the best of the night.

At first she wasn't sure what to think, but soon she was glued to the edge of her seat, wondering what was going to happen next. Jonah was an excellent dancer, and she wasn't sure if he was the one who directed the performance, but whoever did was really creative, especially with the lighting and set of the stage.

Even the lyrics weren't bad; Sinead especially liked the ones about people being beautiful inside and not needing to listen to other voices who said they weren't. And although she was focused on the screen she caught Jonah looking at her several times so she tried to keep her expression neutral and her body relaxed.

Then it was over, and Jonah turned to the ones who had just seen it for the first time. Sinead couldn't tell if he was more anxious or excited about getting feedback.

"So, what did ya think?" He turned to Reagan first who was across the aisle from them.

"I loved it! The boxes or whatever you were dancing on were totally awesome!" She exclaimed. "Especially at the end when they lit up like that."

He grinned, then looked at Ned. "Be honest now, you won't hurt my feelings." He told the boy.

But Ned agreed with Reagan, adding that the dance moves were 'neat' and that he wished he had some talent in that area.

Jonah assured him that Ned could probably dance just fine and that if the other boy wanted he could teach him some moves too. Sinead braced herself and sure enough, Jonah looked at her, a 'lay it on me' look on his face.

"Ok my worst critic; I wanna know what you think."

Sinead's mouth dropped open. "I'm not that bad!" She protested, not liking the way he said it and feeling guilty when she saw some of her cousins exchange a look that implied that she _was_ in fact that bad.

Jonah just laughed lightly, "You're honest. Not that everyone else isn't," He shot a quick glance around the room, then turned back to her. "But if there was anything weird or off about that performance you'd be the one to tell me."

His eyes pierced hers, and she swallowed hard, trying to think. It was hard to do, when he was looking at her like that.

"My honest opinion?" She asked, then let out a breath, allowing the awe she was feeling to leak into her voice. "I have nothing negative to say. It was brilliant. Creative choreography. Great dancing. Wow."

A smile crossed his face, his serious expression gone. "Really?"

"Really." She said firmly. "Even the flip at the end was 'legit'." She couldn't resist throwing the word in.

"Oh no, he's rubbing off on you!" Hamilton moaned. She looked over at him and made a face, glad for an excuse to look at someone else for a second.

But she ended up looking back at Jonah, having to ask, "Does my opinion really matter that much to you?"

It shouldn't. She had no musical experience, no dancing skills, and she certainly couldn't sing.

"Well yeah." He said immediately, like it was obvious. "You're a perfectionist and even though you don't hold back words you think over things before you give an opinion."

Then he grimaced and amended, "Uh, most of the time anyways."

 _He was probably thinking about when I didn't even want to give his song a chance,_ she thought, a pang of guilt hitting her.

"Son, you're a perfectionist too though." Broderick said, "When it comes to your performances."

He turned to the rest of the group, a proud smile lighting up his face. "Jonah spent hours choreographing and perfecting that routine. He even stayed up all night one time, about a week before the show."

"Well you did a good job." Nellie directed this at Jonah, who grinned modestly, but Sinead could see the pride on his face also.

They discussed the song a little bit longer, but Jonah and Broderick stood up, having to leave for Jonah's interview.

"I'll be back soon, you guys can do whatever." Jonah told them. "Tonight, I can take whoever wants to go to a dance studio in town. Even if you don't dance there's lots of cool stores and stuff right by it."

They agreed, and even though Sinead had zero dancing skills she thought it would be fun to watch. Once Jonah and his dad left, they ended up watching a comedy movie which was pretty long, then they ate lunch.

Sinead excused herself when they were done, wanting to be alone for a few hours. While she loved her cousin she hoped that Amy would do something else. She didn't have to fear though, Amy retreated to the game room with Dan and Ian to play some games. Sinead figured that she would probably end up curling in one of the big armchairs in front of the bookcase with a book instead, but didn't comment.

Once in her room she sat on the bed and reached for her laptop. Jonah's Grammy performance had made her curious and she wanted to see some of his other music and videos. She was sure to find several online, and she was right.

Each of his music videos had millions and millions of views, a lot of them reaching near and over 1 billion hits. She spent the next few hours watching them, some of them over and over again, as well as looking at interviews, red carpet events, and more shows where he was asked to perform. And even though she ran into a few interviews and videos that she wanted to roll her eyes at, she reminded herself that Jonah was probably in a really bad place at that time.

The main thing though that captured her attention (and she wish that it didn't bother her so much) were the girls in his videos and his interaction with them. The girls were all gorgeous of course, with curves and perfect skin, hair, teeth, eyes, and on and on. And the way he looked at them and touched them made her stomach drop. She knew that it was probably just acting but it reminded her again of what different worlds they led.

Here, just surrounded by distant family and away from the fans and media for the most part, Jonah seemed like a normal guy. In the back of her mind she was aware that he was a huge celebrity that was known world-wide, but when she spent time with him alone, or even talked with him in a group setting (like the other night playing Cranium), his status was easy to forget.

 _But this is really his life. He's just on vacation right now._ Sinead frowned at the thought. Now that she had a few days to accept her feelings for Jonah, her confrontational nature made her want to confess them to him. She wasn't positive on how he would react but she was leaning with Amy now, thinking that he would let her down gently. But the problem was her pride, she didn't want to deal with the rejection. While she liked to get things out in the open, she also liked to analyze results and reactions, and every time she thought of confessing the scenario wasn't good. He might be nice about it, but she was sure that he would be thinking, ' _Date you? Someone who is so critical and argumentative, when I have tons of hot girls around me that would treat me better?'_

She bit her lip, hating these thoughts and looked at the time, just now realizing how long she had been locked away with only her musings and her laptop. She shut the computer down quickly, her mood turning dark. She knew that she couldn't let on though, or Jonah would notice.

That was another thing that confused her, how well he could sense things about her. She was sure it was because he had opened up to her so much - especially about his mom - and he was probably just trying to return the favor by acting concerned about her. But still, could it mean something more?

She sighed, annoyed at herself for thinking this much about him, and went to go find her brothers.

* * *

Sinead thought that going to the dance studio that evening would help. Instead, it made things worse.

Jonah picked a dance set that was fairly easy so all of the Cahills had decided to try to dance with the exception of her and Amy. The others had tried to convince them that they would have fun but they had declined.

"No, I want to at least watch first." Amy had protested shyly, but Sinead hadn't said anything, not wanting to even attempt it.

Normally, she was up for new things, but there were two problems.

The first one was that she was _horrible_ at dancing. She wasn't coordinated with her feet, and every time she had tried to dance in the past it had been awkward. Even one of Sinead's old boyfriends had blatantly made fun of her for it one time.

The second issue was that Jonah was going around helping position everyone. And with Sinead's past record of dancing, he would be spending a _lot_ of time around her. Sure, he was barely touching them, but she was so on-edge from her thoughts this afternoon that she didn't even think she could handle casual contact.

So she stood with Amy watching everyone else, which actually was interesting. The Holt's were surprisingly good dancers, even Hamilton. Dan was a little over-exuberant, but Natalie helped him, being graceful along with her brother Ian. Sinead was impressed that her brothers seemed to be nailing the simple moves, and of course Nellie was a really good dancer. That one didn't surprise her at all.

After they had been dancing a few minutes Jonah left them, hollering out 'keep it up' over his shoulder as he walked over to the two girls not participating.

"Are you two ready?" He asked, not even out of breath from dancing himself. He looked pumped up and expectant.

Amy bit her lip. "You can't make fun of me." She said, and Sinead wanted to kick her for giving in. Now everyone would expect her to join in too.

"I promise." Jonah assured her, "I'll make sure no one else will either."

He looked over at Sinead, with that hopeful look still in his eye. "Ya in?" He asked, and she shook her head, not looking directly at his face. _Why_ did she have to go depress herself over YouTube videos of him anyways? Now it hurt to even look at him.

"No thanks. I'm good." She said and caught the frown he gave her out of her peripheral vision.

"Why not? I bet you're a great dancer."

Dan let out a laugh, right in the middle of a jump. "Sinead? She can't dance at all."

"Thanks Dan." She said dryly, even though she knew it was true.

"Hey, remember Clinton." He shot back cheerfully, and Sinead winced.

"Clinton?" Jonah asked.

"One of Sinead's exes." Amy supplied. Now everyone was listening, peering curiously at Sinead as Nellie started to laugh.

At Sinead's exasperated look, the older girl stopped but said defensively, "Hey it was kind of funny. I thought you were going to murder the poor guy."

"Wait," This came from Ned, "What happened? Do Ted and I need to go beat someone up?"

"NO." Sinead said, wanting to kill Dan for bringing up this topic. With everyone looking at her though, having stopped dancing and now grabbing for their waters, she knew that she should just explain and get it over with.

"Clinton was one of my exes, like Amy said. We went to a party and he ended up making fun of my dancing in front of everyone." She said shortly. "I took care of it. We broke up. End of story."

"Wow he sounds like a jerk." Jonah said, sounding annoyed. But then he added in a kinder voice. "I'm sure that you can dance Sinead, everyone can."

"Really, I can't." She tried to make her voice sound firm, still not looking at him directly, but he apparently wasn't listening.

"Maybe ya just need a good teacher." He said this with a wink, but Sinead wasn't in the mood for games. Did he think that flirting with her was just something fun to do or what?

"Look." She said, not bothering to keep the annoyance out of her tone, and finally looked at him straight in the eye. " _Maybe_ I just don't feel like dancing ok?"

Her 'drop-it' tone would have made most people shut up there, but Jonah held her gaze, unperturbed. "It's unlike you to back down from a challenge."

"Well maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do." She shot back

"I don't claim to know everything about you." He said, voice turning from mild to factual. "But I know that you're not normally afraid of things."

"Afraid?!" Her voice rose in pitch against her will, and she could see Ned flinch from behind Jonah. "What makes you think I'm afraid? Maybe I just don't like it when people try to _push_ me"

She knew that it was an unfair thing to say and started to back up but he reached out and grabbed her arm, preventing her from moving.

"Because you're acting like it." He said firmly, "What's going on with you? You've been acting weird again, just like ya were a couple of days ago, but more so around me. I wanna know why."

She stilled, not expecting him to confront her and felt her face freeze into a stunned expression. Behind him she could see the same looks cross her cousin's faces.

"Sinead. Talk to me." His voice dropped, and she felt her heart drop along with it at the gentle reassurance in his tone. "I promise I won't get mad."

She tried to muster enough anger up to fight back, to tell him to mind his own dang business but found that her anger was gone, replaced instead with sadness. Sadness that she was too weak to confess her feelings for him. Sadness over the fact that he was _right._

"You're right." She whispered, finally admitting it, tired of keeping it in. "I am afraid."

But not of dancing like the others watching probably thought. She was afraid of him.

Jonah looked startled at her confession, but then his expression turned concerned, his eyes looking over her face carefully like he was trying to figure her out.

He opened his mouth but she didn't give him a chance to say anything else. She tugged her arm from his grasp and whirled around, heading blindly for the door.

It was raining, but she didn't care, practically running once she was outside, going past several buildings before she ducked into one.

She was soaked, having left her jacket back at the studio, and she shivered from the dampness, although it was still warm enough outside that she wasn't cold.

Looking around once she entered, she saw that the store was a small boutique. Great, couldn't she have picked a coffee shop or bookstore? It would be a lot easier to hide in one of those.

"Hello there, can I help you find anything?" A pleasant voice sounded, and Sinead looked up to see a petite woman standing there, a smile on her face.

"Uh no, just looking." She mumbled at the girl as she pretended to admire a dress on a rack.

Once she focused on it she saw that the dress was actually pretty. Normally Sinead avoided wearing pink, although she liked the color well enough, but she felt like it clashed with her hair. This dress was more of a coral-pink though, which should have been worse but when Sinead held it up to her in the mirror it looked kind of good with her hair.

"That would look lovely on you dear." The lady said helpfully, "Do you want to try it on?" She asked.

Sinead almost declined, but then looked towards the window and thought that if anyone came to look for her the dressing room would be a great place to hide.

She told the lady yes and seconds later was in the dress, studying it in the mirror. She loved the feel of it on her, it wasn't too short, and she especially loved the sleeves, they were just long enough to cover her scars. She didn't have her purse with her though (another thing she left back at the studio), so she put it on the return rack, telling the lady that she might come back for it.

Once Sinead had left the store, she was at a loss of what to do. She definitely didn't want to go back to the studio and face Jonah and the rest of her family, but she wasn't really in the mood to shop anymore either.

A text from her phone made that decision for her. It was from Amy.

 _Hey, where are you? It's just me, I'm coming to bring you your purse and jacket. Everyone is about to leave her but we can take a cab back._

Sinead hesitated, but knew that she didn't have a choice. She looked up at the name of the store and then texted Amy her location.

Minutes later, her jade-eyed cousin approached, trying not to look worried.

"Hey," She said, "Here's your stuff."

"Thanks," Sinead replied, swallowing as she took the items. "You're a lifesaver."

She didn't know what else to say, and Amy looked like she didn't either, so Sinead decided to show her the dress.

"It's pretty." Amy agreed, "You should get it."

Sinead did, and nothing else was said as they headed back to the mansion. Amy did reach over once they settled in the cab and squeezed her hand and Sinead found that she appreciated that gesture more than anything Amy could have said.

"Is everyone still hanging out?" Sinead said once they left the cab.

Amy shrugged. "I'm not sure; no one really said anything after you left. Jonah just came over and tried to teach us the rest of the dance, but he was really distracted."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin everyone's night." Sinead said truthfully.

"I know, don't worry about it." Amy said.

They walked into the mansion but thankfully it was quiet. Then Sinead frowned at Amy, "I didn't see the limo out front. Do you think we beat them?"

"Maybe. Now that you mention it I do remember Dan saying something about ice cream."

The girls exchanged knowing smiles, then Sinead said that she was going to turn in for the night. She wanted to take a hot shower and crawl into bed and forget about her confessing her fear to Jonah, even if he didn't know what it was about. He was sure to question her soon, and Sinead wanted to avoid the topic for as long as possible.

* * *

 **I know, more drama right? But I have a confession: part of chapter 15 was the VERY FIRST thing I wrote of this fic. So I needed something to bring chapters 13 and 15 together, so yeah.**

 **Staaaaaaaaay tuned! :D :D :D**

 **P.S. Does anyone else just LOVE Bruno Mars' voice or is it just me? He's definitely my main celebrity crush! (Uh, after Jonah of course...)**


	17. Chapter 15

**Sorry this took so long to update! I got really busy and then sick...ugh**

 **Warning: You're about to experience Sinead + some very mixed up emotions that are all over the place. But hey I'm trying to keep this thing realistic and from a 19 year-old, over-practical, closed-up-emotionally person's viewpoint who happens to be in love but doesn't want to accept it haha.**

* * *

 _Jonah's POV_

Jonah didn't know _what_ to do or say once Sinead left the studio. Staring after her for a few seconds, he debated on whether he should follow her or not.

 _She was so upset._ He reflected, both concerned and stunned at the expression that had crossed her face. _I wanna go find out what's going on so bad. But_ _if I go after her it might make it worse._

Frustrated, he turned back to his cousins who were all looking at him sympathetically. He wasn't in the mood to talk though, so he walked back over and said, "Ok, let's just pick up where we left off."

He said it in a firm tone and hoped that they would go along with it.

To his relief they did, but Jonah had a really hard time concentrating after that. Finally, after another failure to instruct them correctly, Dan spoke up. "Hey, why don't we go get ice cream and come back another time?"

Jonah winced but nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Sorry guys."

"Hey, it's no big deal." Nellie brushed it off. "We did a lot already anyways. The basics at least."

"Yeah, I'm all for the ice cream. I need it after this workout." Ned joked, shooting Jonah a small smile.

 _At least her brothers don't hate me._ Jonah thought. _Should I talk to them and see if they know what's going on with her?_

As soon as the thought came though he shot it down. There had been enough drama between him and Sinead lately without getting other people involved. Besides, this was something that he felt like she needed to work out on her own, whatever it was. And if she didn't come talk to him after a couple of days, he would just confront her again. _It might be a good time for me to confess my feelings for her too._

"I just texted Sinead to see where she was and she told so I'm heading that way." Amy spoke up. "We can just get a cab back. I doubt she'll be in a socializing mood."

Everyone agreed but Jonah stayed quiet as Amy left, still thinking about what had just happened. _'You're right. I am afraid',_ Sinead had said, an almost defeated expression crossing her face.

 _But of what? What could make her so scared that she looked so miserable and would hardly look at me?_

While he was planning to give her a little space, he also was determined to find out.

Soon.

* * *

 _Sinead's POV_

Two days later, Sinead was about to go crazy. She hadn't seen Jonah at all yesterday due to him being somewhere with his dad most of the day - not that she had gone out of her way to look for him though. She even tried to avoid most of her cousins, only sticking close to Amy enough to converse with her.

Now she was sitting on her bed, starving. She knew that Jonah was back and decided to forgo breakfast, (not one of her better decisions) and Amy hadn't been back up yet. This left Sinead to twiddle her thumbs, not feeling like doing anything besides berating herself for her stupidity at the dance studio.

She was going to have to decide what to tell Jonah. She knew that she could only put it off for so long before he would ask her about it, and then what would she tell him? Lying was out since he would probably know, but confessing wasn't something that she was looking forward to doing. Even if it would make her life a lot easier.

Sighing, Sinead laid back down and rolled over again, wishing she could teleport out of the house without everyone knowing. But even with the size of the mansion she was sure to run into someone on her way out the door, and she didn't want anyone to try to follow her or make a group activity out of whatever she came up with. Finally, when it was close to lunchtime, she made her way reluctantly downstairs.

 _I can't hide out for the next week. It's best just to face everything head on, like I used to do before these stupid feelings hit me._

And she knew that it was the truth. She was done hiding. Whatever happened from now on, she promised herself that she would deal with it instead of running away.

With this in mind she hesitantly stepped in the dining room, where it looked like everyone was sitting, including the last person she wanted to see. Not saying anything or sparing him another look she took the only open seat, which was thankfully by Madison and Reagan.

"Sinead! Let me get you a plate." Madison said, getting up. Everyone else chimed in hellos, but seemed to be trying hard to act nonchalant and avoid her eyes. Which suited Sinead just fine.

She told Madison thank you when the girl returned, but besides some small talk with her and Reagan about lacrosse, she didn't say much to anyone else. Then everyone retreated to the den to watch Hamilton and Dan's push-up competition. Sinead had no idea how that had come about, and was sure that Dan would lose. Hanging at the very back of the group, she noticed that her brothers were missing along with Broderick.

She turned to Reagan. "Where are Ned and Ted?" She asked.

"They said something about some hi-tech store. They almost texted you to join them but ended up deciding against it."

"Oh, ok." Sinead wished that they would have. She would have loved an excuse to leave the house. But they probably were afraid she would snap at them, like she had done in the past when she was upset over something.

The push-up challenge somehow turned into a planking challenge, and Sinead lost her hesitancy and joined her cousins in laughter as it ended. It didn't last long, neither boy being able to hold the position for very long. Dan, because he wasn't able to hold himself up and Hamilton because he was laughing at Dan too hard to focus.

It was that moment that her brothers decided to enter, both of them stopping and staring at Sinead.

She took one look at their amused and almost mischievous expressions and felt her mirth fade.

"Well, you seem to be doing better today." Ted said, eyeing his sister with a small grin. "Long time no see."

Sinead glared at him in return. "Don't start."

Ned turned to Ted, "I think you're right bro, she is in looove."

She felt shock course through her; just what had her brothers been talking about before they entered? She could feel other eyes on her now too as the room quieted, and she flushed slightly. Not because of the smug look on her brother's faces or the looks of curiosity on her cousin's, but because she could feel _his_ eyes on her.

"Absolutely not! Why would you think that?" She demanded, remembering the pact she had made with herself just minutes prior. Feeling empowered by the rush of confidence that 'not being a chicken' gave her, she looked her brothers straight in the eye.

They both looked thrown at her challenging stare but she didn't back down, raising her eyebrows at them as she waited for an answer.

It was Ted who finally gave it. "Come on Sinead, you've been acting moodier than normal"- at this she heard a chuckle and knew instantly who it was -"and we all know that you like someone. Is it Michael?"

Sinead felt her face get hotter, this time from annoyance rather than embarrassment. "No!" She exclaimed. "Why are we even discussing this? My love life is no one's business!" She whirled to face the source of the chuckle, still feeling brave, "And Jonah, shut up!"

He immediately quieted, but she could see the amusement in his eyes, and of course that irritating smirk gracing his lips. She glared at him until he schooled his features into an easygoing expression.

"What?" He asked her in a 'too-innocent' voice.

He really pissed her off sometimes. Sinead opened her mouth to retort, but Amy quickly cut in.

"I know!" She said brightly, "Why don't we go ahead and start planning our last week together? There's still a lot we haven't done." From what looked like out of nowhere she produced a notebook and started writing. The whole room stared at her until she looked up. "It's good to be prepared." She said defensively.

"No one said anything," Reagan chirped. "I agree that we should start planning, I don't want to miss anything exciting."

At that, everyone joined in the discussion, gathering around Amy and (to Sinead's relief) seemed to forget about her "moodiness" as Ted had called it.

Sinead relaxed but didn't join them, trying to get a grip on her thoughts that were whirling around in her head. But the sound of voices rising diverted her attention and she looked over to see Dan and Natalie already arguing over who knew what.

 _How are they even dating, with all of that arguing?_ Sinead thought, her mind wandering to her and Jonah, pondering if that was how their relationship would be. Then she froze as she realized that not only was she thinking as if they were already dating, but she could picture it all to well. _We would argue, but we would make up quickly._

Her thoughts shifted to how she knew this almost like it was a fact. _We get along now the majority of the time, we share a lot of interests, we understand each other, and more importantly we both care about each other. I just don't know_ _how_ _much Jonah cares for me or if it's even in a romantic way._

She frowned as the next thought hit her. _Well why don't you find out?_

Grimacing, she glanced over at Jonah quickly to see that he was standing off too but was smiling in amusement at Dan and Natalie.

 _I should. What's the worst he could do, turn me down?_ But Sinead knew that really wasn't what was scaring her at this point. After a lot of thinking over the last two days, she had realized what scared her was him saying that he felt the same way. What if he said yes, claimed to return her feelings, and then dumped her when he realized how much better he could do? _He probably has no idea how much I suck at relationships. Or how hard I am to be with. Maybe I shouldn't talk to him at all. I mean, he is this huge celebrity..._

But Sinead was just running again and she knew it. All of these thoughts were just worries about what _might_ happen or what Jonah _might_ say or do in the future if they even did start dating. He could simply say that they should remain friends but she did know one thing, she was driving herself crazy by not talking to him.

She glanced over at Jonah again to see that he was frowning now at nothing in particular. As if sensing her gaze he looked at her suddenly and met her eyes, making her heart leap. His eyebrows rose up questioningly, and Sinead took a deep breath and decided that she couldn't live with this anymore; she had to talk to him. It was now or never, while she was still frustrated enough to have the courage.

She quietly walked over to him while her cousins were still hashing out details, determination driving her. She could tell that he didn't know what to think because he was giving her a strange look as she approached.

"Come on." She said, tugging at his arm and motioning towards the door. "I need to talk to you."

He didn't say anything in reply, just kept studying her - which almost made her lose her courage - but then he nodded and followed her to the door. Neither of them said a word as Sinead led them outside onto the large outer patio. She picked a corner near the yard on the other side of the house, and turned facing direction of the door that way she could see if anyone came out. Some conversations were definitely not for nosy relatives.

The silence stretched on as Sinead scrambled for words. Jonah was still looking at her, and she found that some of her bravery had evaporated, so she dropped her gaze to a nearby plant.

"Soooo", Johan drawled, but she could hear the curiosity in his laid back tone, "What's up? Is this about the other night?"

"Um…" She trailed nervously. Words had escaped her; what was she doing? Jonah had everything - an adoring fan base, lots of money, good looks, and tons of gorgeous girls that he could be dating. But Amy's words came back to her. _'I think you should go for it! What do you have to lose?'_

Sinead remembered telling her that she had plenty to lose, but now that she looked back over her and Jonah's interactions with each other she knew that she had picked up on some interest on his part. But was it just that she intrigued him? Or that she spoke her mind and refused to kiss up to him like so many other females? Or was she just a good 'friend' that he enjoyed spending time with? It was time to find out. She took another deep breath and looked back at him.

"Jonah," She started, a bit on edge. "I know that we argue a lot. And that I'm well…" She trailed off again. It was hard to have a conversation like this when he was right there. Amusement flickered in his eyes.

"Argumentative? Sassy? Cruel to the great Jonah Wizard?"

She glared at him, annoyed that he was trying to joke around when she was freaking out - even if he had no idea that she was. "This is serious; but yeah, all of those."

The humor left his eyes and when he spoke his voice was softer. "I was joking Sinead. Sometimes what you say stings a bit, but I know that I bring it on myself by annoying you. And sometimes I mess with you on purpose."

He grinned and added, "You're cute when you get riled up."

Sinead's heart leapt. Another hint that he liked her; he didn't even seem bothered by the fact that he admitted that to her.

"Cute?" She echoed. "Jonah, I need for you to be honest with me, and I promise to be honest too."

"Aren't you always?" He asked.

"Not with everything." She hesitated, and then took the plunge. "At least not with my feelings for you."

Jonah visibly started, and looked at her more intently. "Your feelings for me?"

"Yes, they probably aren't what you think." She absently rubbed her scarred arm. His gaze didn't leave hers, and she kept on.

"I like you, as more than a friend or a distant relative." She said bluntly. Now that it was out, she couldn't stop. "I tried not too at first. I hate the way you make me feel, like I'm out of my element. Like I'm not in control of my own feelings." She paused, swallowing hard but finally said what she didn't want to admit. "I really care about you Jonah. I'm just scared, like you accused me of being on Tuesday, and-."

Jonah, whose face became unreadable as she was talking, cut in. "Why are you scared?"

Sinead felt her face heat up and turned away. "I don't want to tell you." She heard him step closer to her and then felt his hands gently on her face, turning it towards him. She peeked up at him and saw that his face had softened and he was looking at her, his face open. She could read in his eyes that at least some of her feelings were returned so she let her body relax a little.

"Then let me tell you how I feel about you then." He said, his hands dropping to her shoulders. "I really like you too Sinead. Like a lot. I thought that it was obvious to you, along with everyone else. But from the way you're acting I guess not." He let out a little laugh but without humor. "I guess there are some things I'm not good at."

"Wow I'm surprised you can admit that." She teased, frowning playfully at his mock vanity. She was relieved at his words and really wanted to throw her arms around him and be done with it. But there was still one thing worrying her that she had to voice, one of the main reasons that a relationship with him scared her.

She stepped back from him, causing his hands to fall of his shoulders, and it was his turn to frown. "Now what?"

"The reason I'm scared is because- well, because you're a huge celebrity." She blurted, finally releasing it out loud.

He blinked at her, surprise written all over his face. "So?" He said, "You've always treated me like a regular person which is one of the reasons I like you so much. And I know that your feelings for me have nothing to do with my celebrity side."

Sinead looked down again. "You're right, but-" She couldn't get the words out, her hand going back to her scars.

"I notice that you keep doing that." Jonah stated suddenly. "Why is that?"

Sinead flinched and stopped. She hadn't even realized that she had been touching her arm. Still not looking at him, she came clean. "I do that when I feel insecure, or uncertain. I mean, you have all of these gorgeous girls surrounding you constantly! They hang all over you, will do whatever you want, and don't smart off to you all of the time like I do."

Silence.

She dared a look at him and back down and managed to catch his frozen, stunned expression. And her rant wasn't even over yet.

"You have all of the money and fame you could want, not to mention people that adore you and worship the ground that you walk on. I have scars Jonah. I definitely am not model material, I'm not good with people, as you should know by now. I barely have any friends outside of some of my family and-"

She had more she could say but stopped, realizing how much she had just revealed to him and inhaled sharply, wanting to scream at herself for saying all of that. Still not looking at Jonah, she decided the only course to take was to get out of there quickly. Taking advantage of his stunned state, she started walking past him to the door. Only if had she been looking at him the entire time, she would have seen him snap out of it. He caught her around the wrist as she walked past and held her there in mid step.

"Let. Go." She bit out, humiliation coloring her voice.

"No." He said, _his voice_ composed. "You're gonna stay here and listen to why I think everything you said is absolutely insane."

His words both calmed and confused her. She still refused to look at him though and instead sighed loudly to let him know that she wasn't happy about this.

"I think you're beautiful." Jonah stated. She looked at him incredulously, but once she did she could read the honesty in his gaze. She swallowed hard as he continued, "I don't care about any of the girls that fling themselves on me. I used to, but it was just my ego coming out. I do love my fans, but I try not the let their adoration give me too big of a head. It's a little hard sometimes-" he stopped to throw her a wry look -"but I try instead to just create the music that I love and to not do anything to disappoint them."

He paused and loosened his grip on her, but didn't let her go. Instead he moved his other hand to rest on her waist. "You're the only girl that I've had deep feelings for. You intrigue me, you challenge me, you tell me when I'm being an idiot-" he paused and let out a small laugh, "-you inspire me, in fact I've already started a song about that." He admitted.

"A song, about me?" Sinead couldn't believe it. He thought about her that much? He thought she was beautiful? He was writing a _song_ about her? Butterflies started to take over her stomach, and not just over his words. It was his touch too, driving her crazy and warming her at the same time.

"Well, I only have a few lines." He said, "But yeah, it's about you. I don't know what else I can say to make ya believe me though. But you should know that you aren't the only one scared. I have real feelings for you, and I'm aware of my faults as much as the next person. I honestly have no idea why you would wanna be with _me_." He tried to smile, but she could hear the nervous note in his voice. "You're the smartest person I know Sinead, and you still wanna hang out with me? I'm not as good of a guy as you make me out to be."

 _I'm the smartest person he knows?_

Sinead let out a light laugh, flustered over his comment but also over the irony of this entire discussion. "What? I guess we've both been keeping secrets."

 _I should have talked to him ages ago, just like Amy suggested. Why was I so set on the idea of him not returning any of my feelings?_

"Yeah," Jonah flashed her his dimpled smile, bringing her mind back to the present. "I think we should discuss this further in a more comfortable place though."

Sinead raised her eyebrows at him, "Like..?"

"My private music room?" He suggested, "I think I can trust ya with that secret now."

Sinead gaped at him. _Another_ music room?

"Ok." She said faintly. While she had money herself, she wasn't sure if his wealth would ever become normal for her.

He grinned at her, "It's nothing like the one I showed you all, this is a lot smaller and it just has a piano and a couch. I've written and put together a lot of the music to my songs there. C'mon, I'll show you. It's a lot more private than out here. And I know a different route there to avoid our cousins inside."

She could sense his growing excitement about showing it to her, so she shrugged and gently stepped out of his embrace. "Alright Wizard, lead the way."

* * *

 **FINALLY RIGHT? ;D**

 **Just a 'fun fact': The part from where Ted says, "I think you're right bro, she's in love" until Sinead tells Jonah "Come on, I need to talk to you" is one of the first things I EVER wrote, and I wrote it 2 years ago. It wasn't until about 4 months ago that I found it in my word docs, finished the scene, and then plotted my entire story around it. Of course, I was planning on only about 7-8 chapters leading up to it but it just kept growing and growing. But yeah, besides some minor rewriting due to some changes it's the original scene. I said all of that to say this: if it doesn't fit, so sorry. I almost rewrote the whole part but I couldn't bring myself to.**


	18. Chapter 16

**This one is kind of a filler to move the plot along...sooooo I promise to upload Chapter 17 this week also!**

 **Oh, and shout out to "Wooooow"! You need to get an account so I can pm you! And thank you for all of your reviews so far!**

* * *

When they finally rejoined the others at dinner, Sinead quietly took her seat, still digesting the events of the past couple of hours.

After entering Jonah's private music room (which was pretty simple like he had said) they had sat and talked for what seemed like ages. While she was glad that it happened, it was a little unnerving to her how comfortable she felt around him. It was like now that they both knew the other person returned their feelings there were no barriers between them.

They had even talked about Cora - although Jonah still didn't reveal what the phone call was about that day. But he did talk about how he felt when his mother disowned him and some of the emotions he had gone through.

Honestly, she had felt so much compassion for him that she actually felt tears start to come on, but thankfully he had changed the subject and she managed to keep them hidden. Being around him brought out her soft side and while it probably was a good thing, she wasn't about to cry in front of him _again._

And then the subject came around to a dinner date, which they set for the next evening. Surprisingly there were no arguments there; Sinead was happy to let him take the lead on that one. But the next topic brought them to their first disagreement as a couple.

 _ **-Flashback-**_

' _So how do you wanna tell everyone?' Jonah said suddenly, just as she agreed to go to dinner with him._

 _She frowned at him, 'Everyone? You're referring to our nosy cousins who have constantly been trying to push us together?'_

 _He grinned, 'I guess you picked up on that too huh?'_

 _At her eye roll he let out a chuckle and then got back to the subject. 'I can tell 'em if you want.'_

 _Sinead bit her lip. She wasn't crazy about being the center of attention OR being gushed over. 'Can we wait a few days? Just to try to figure stuff out without them trying to intervene?'_

' _Figure stuff out?' Jonah echoed, 'Haven't we already done that?'_

 _Not wanting to further hurt his feelings - since that's what his expression was revealing to her - she quickly said, 'Well yeah. But you know, adjusting to dating instead of just being friends.'_

' _Sinead, there's no way we're gonna be able to hide it from them. Believe me, not saying anything will just make it worse.'_

' _Well, I'm good at keeping things a secret.' She stated, crossing her arms. 'And I totally disagree with you.'_

 _He let out a sigh, 'We're already getting into an argument?'_

 _She smiled at him and made her tone sweet. 'Not if you agree with me.'_

 _Jonah's face went from annoyed to amused, but he crossed his own arms in return. 'It's not happening.'_

 **-End flashback-**

Much to Sinead's dismay, Jonah had ended up winning the argument. But only after about five more minutes of going back and forth _and_ after promising her that he would keep it low-key.

She had been annoyed as she agreed until he scooted closer and put his arm around her and flashed her a sincere smile. Then all of the negative feelings faded and were replaced with _other_ feelings. But that was as far as they had gone with the physical contact, and she was actually relieved. Opening up to him like she had was enough for one day. Physical affection was another thing she wasn't really comfortable with, but knew that where Jonah was concerned she would be ready for it soon enough.

 _I'm just overwhelmed momentarily. The last few hours have been INSANE._

"Sinead." Nellie's voice brought her back to the present. "Can you pass me the rolls?"

She picked up the bowl and methodically passed it to her left, and then looked down at her almost-full plate. She knew that she should eat, but nerves were clenching her stomach and she didn't think she could manage right now.

Glancing at Jonah she noted that _he_ was eating just fine and (not for the first time) envied his nonchalant manner.

 _Please, please, PLEASE, don't announce it to the whole table._ Sinead tried to send him telepathically, even though he wasn't even paying her any attention.

"Hey Sinead, are you feeling ok?" Amy suddenly asked, right at a point when everyone was chewing instead of talking. "You've hardly touched your food."

"I'm fine." She said calmly, hoping that no one could hear her heartbeat picking up. "I'm just not that hungry."

Ned - who was seated directly across from her - shot Ted a glance at her words and she knew what was coming. She tried to open her mouth but didn't quite manage to cut him off in time.

"So sis," Ned asked in an innocent voice, ignoring her warning look. " _Why_ aren't you hungry?" He didn't wait for an answer but kept going. "I was reading the other day that romantic feelings make one lose their appetite."

Now the whole table was listening, snickers and eye rolls going around the room. Sinead groaned and put her head in her hands. "I wish you two would stop!" She said. She opened her mouth to go on, but once again a voice cut her off.

"Well, they are halfway right ya know."

Jonah.

She was going to kill him. Now everyone's gaze moved to the celebrity who was smiling like he didn't have a care in the world. But Sinead could see the gleam in his eye and she didn't like it one bit.

"How would you know?" Nellie asked, looking suspicious.

"Jonah," Sinead cut in, "Seriously?!"

He just rolled his eyes. "You told me I could say something."

"But not like this, and definitely not right now!" She protested.

"Now is a great time; everyone is here, and we agreed to tell everyone." He looked annoyed, bringing his hand to the back of his neck and rubbing it.

Sinead briefly wondered if it was a habit of his as she had noticed him doing that before when he was irritated. Then she remembered the argument at hand and returned his frown. "Yes but not as a response to my annoying brothers!"

Jonah set his jaw, "Fine, _you_ tell them then."

"What, that we decided to start dating?" She demanded, "Why didn't we just stick to my plan in the first place?"

She then stopped mid-argument, realizing that she in fact, had just told everyone, and they were all looking between her and Jonah in shock. Well, _shock_ wasn't really the right word. Amy looked ecstatic, her brothers smug, and everyone else wore knowing smiles. Everyone but Ian that is, who looked like she just admitted to committing murder. Which she actually was considering since Jonah was down there laughing, all traces of irritation vanished from his face.

The silence only lasted for a couple of seconds though before the table erupted in exclamations of 'congratulations' and 'I knew it's' so instead of murdering her still-laughing boyfriend, Sinead chose to bury her head back in her hands. It was like she and Jonah had just announced their engagement or something.

"I'm going to kill you Jonah!" She managed to bark out, causing even more laughter.

"Well, at least now you get to kiss and make up!" Natalie said. "Trust me, it's the best part of arguing. Oh, was that your first couple argument?" The brunette's eyes lit up excitedly as she clasped her hands together.

Sinead stared at her. There was something wrong with this girl. "Our second." She said, defeat in her tone.

Jonah laughed, "Sorry babe." He winked at her, "I couldn't help myself."

 _Babe?_ He had called her that before, but it almost sounded sweet this time instead of annoying.

 _You hate pet names remember?_ She tried to tell herself, even as a warm feeling settled over her at the nickname. _You've always made fun of people for using them on each other too._

She just sighed though instead of retorting back, exasperated at all of them.

"Um, if you all don't mind," Ned piped up, "I would rather not discuss my sister kissing anyone, even if it is Jonah."

"Agreed." Sinead said quickly. "Ok, we are dating. Now you all know and can stop trying to throw us together. Now, subject change?"

Everyone reluctantly went back to discussing whatever it was they were discussing before the bombshell, and Sinead finally decided to start eating. As she focused on her pasta though she could feel eyes on her from time to time. She decided to ignore them, thinking that she could escape after dinner and claim that she had work to do upstairs.

While she wanted to spend more time with Jonah, she was feeling a little overwhelmed with all of the events and how open they had been with each other that afternoon. Also, she wanted to sort out her feelings in private and relive the day, without anyone else around.

But luck was against her because after dinner Nellie announced a mandatory meeting in the den.

"That way," Nellie eyed Dan, "There won't be any distractions." She turned to Jonah. "This house is the hardest place to have a serious meeting at."

Dan scowled at her words. "You sneak off to play video games ONE time." Sinead heard him mutter. She exchanged an eye roll with Natalie, who was standing near her, and Dan caught it. Instead of getting mad though he just laughed.

Sinead picked her favorite couch - a bright yellow with comfortable pillows - to sit down on upon entering the den. It threw her off a little when Jonah sat next to her and took her hand in his, but she just glanced at him and smiled. He smiled back, and she loved the way it made his eyes soften.

Nellie was talking, so she pulled her gaze away from Jonah's and tried to pay attention.

"Ok guys," Nellie looked serious. Or as serious as Nellie could get anyways. "We aren't going to be able to do a lot of those written plans this week."

At everyone's moans of disappointment and questions, she held up her hand. "I didn't say we can't have fun. I just didn't say where." She paused dramatically, and everyone exchanged confused looks. Sinead turned to Jonah, wondering if he knew, but he just shrugged at her.

Nellie continued, "I decided that before everyone goes back to their normal lives, we all need a nice vacation. Not that Beverly Hills isn't nice, but Jonah should get away too." She gave Jonah a grin. "So we are all packing up and going to...Bora Bora!"

The room was still for a moment, then exploded with questions and exclamations of shock and excitement.

"Hiking..." This came from the Holts.

"I love their boutiques." Natalie said dreamily. "And I definitely could use some more clothes."

Dan shot her a wary look but Sinead thought he looked a little excited too.

"What kind of history is there?" Amy was wondering.

Nellie laughed and shrugged. "I'm there to soak up the sun guys, but there are lots of things to do. I got together with Broderick this morning about this. I also talked to Jonah and the Kabras about where to stay. Jonah has some private bungalows and Ian and Natalie have a villa there."

"Wait," Dan said slowly. "So you three knew about it?" He turned to Natalie. "Why were you arguing with me about where to go on Sunday then?"

Natalie was shaking her head. "Nellie asked for permission to use them sometime but never mentioned when. Although it was a little suspicious when she asked about the space." She eyed Nellie.

Nellie beamed proudly. "I set it all up, but will need the Kabras and the Wiz's help with some of the specifics. The flights and everything else are planned. We fly out the day after tomorrow which is Saturday, and then will stay until the next Saturday."

Jonah, who had been fairly quiet, spoke up. "I have a concert next Friday. I'm starting my European tour and will probably have to fly out on Wednesday."

Nellie nodded at him. "Already talked to your dad about that. He said Tuesday though, so you might want to talk to him."

 _European Tour? Next Friday?_ Sinead stared at Jonah. She knew he had to go on tour before the rest of them had to leave but didn't realize it was already this soon.

"You're leaving that soon?" She didn't realize that she had asked it out loud until the room went quiet.

Jonah threw her a quick glance. "Yeah. I told you all the date before, remember?"

"I know you did." She said impatiently, "I guess I didn't realize it was next week though."

He pushed his lips together and didn't say anything, but she felt his grip on her hand tighten.

"That sucks." Dan said, "You'll miss all kinds of stuff."

 _Yeah, like hanging out with his girlfriend._ She thought, but tried not to look too disappointed.

She looked away, thinking. In one day she had confronted Jonah, found out he returned her feelings, announced to the world (or it seemed like it anyways) that they were dating - even though they hadn't gone on an actual date yet. Now she learned in two days they would be heading for Bora Bora, and in less than a week Jonah would be gone, across the world and on tour full time. In all of their talks about Jonah and his career, they hadn't discussed his upcoming projects.

She turned to Nellie who had started patiently answering questions again. "Nellie, is that all we need to know?"

Nellie thought about it for a second and nodded. Sinead stood up, letting go of Jonah's hand in the process. "I'm going to my room for a while then. I might come back down but if not you guys can fill me in at breakfast."

Nellie frowned at her, but agreed. "Um, ok."

Sinead was looking at Nellie, but she heard when Jonah stood up beside her.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked.

Hating that he _had_ to inquire in front of everyone she avoided his eyes as she replied, "Yes."

"I'll walk you up." He said firmly, and when she looked over at him he was giving her a look that dared her to disagree.

She just silently headed for the door, but Jonah caught up before she reached it and grabbed her hand again.

It was quiet until they got to the doorway of her room, where Jonah halted her with a gentle tug. Sinead wasn't sure what to say but he spoke up before she could. "Look, I know something's wrong. It's my tour, isn't it?"

"Yes and no." She said, not really in the mood to explain but knew that honesty was the only way to make this relationship work. "I didn't realize it was coming up that soon. But I'm also kind of feeling the need for space."

His brows furrowed so she quickly added, "Not from you, just…" She trailed and then finally confessed, "I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now. It's been a long and emotional week."

Jonah nodded slowly. "I get it. Well, a lot happened. You aren't regretting it are ya?" He looked a little anxious, shifting his weight.

Sinead stared at him. "What, agreeing to date you? No way!" She laughed softly. "I'm really looking forward to our date and everything, I just..." She trailed off again, feeling uncomfortable, and then looked directly into his eyes. "Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

"Of course." Jonah said immediately, not bothering to hide his relief at her words. Maybe he was feeling a little overwhelmed too?

"Look Jonah, I'll see you in the morning ok? Sleep well." She said.

"Sleep well too." He said, pulling her into a brief hug, then turned to walk back down the stairs.

She watched him go and was glad she did, because he looked back over his shoulder and flashed the dazzling smile that his fans went crazy over. Her heart thumped and it was a minute before she looked away, even after he disappeared. It wasn't fair how attractive he was. He always had been to her, even back when she couldn't stand him. But now that he was her _boyfriend_ it was like the attractiveness was multiplied.

"Stupid hormones." She muttered to herself as she walked into her room and gently closed the door.

Her room was her haven, her safe place from the craziness of life. Tonight though, it didn't feel like a haven as she plopped down in a chair and stared blankly at the screen of her computer. Her mind whirled and she asked herself what she thought she was doing, dating a well-known and extremely famous celebrity. Here, when they were all just Cahill's they left their titles at the door, but she knew that once he started tour and she went back home and started up classes again, it would be different.

 _I hadn't even_ _really_ _considered what the long-distance part would mean. Who knows how often we will have to be away from each other? Not to mention the media..._

Sinead winced. She hated the spotlight, didn't want to think about the entire world nosing in her life and tracking her every movement.

 _One day a time_ , she reminded herself. Here she was worrying, and they hadn't even had a date. It may not even work out. They may start fighting at the restaurant and decide that they were making a mistake. She thought back to the many disagreements and insults flung over the past two weeks with a grimace.

She sat there a minute, then decided to call Julie. It would be afternoon in Sydney, and Sinead hoped that she would catch her friend at a good time. She really needed to talk to someone who wasn't involved in anything here.

Her friend answered almost immediately. "What's going on?"

"Uh, well, Jonah and I are dating." She decided directness was the best way to go about this.

"WHAT?! I knew that you would like him eventually, although I wasn't expecting that much! Give me all the details! What in the heck happened?" Her friend giggled, finally pausing to take a breath.

Sinead filled her in, ending up giving her a lot more details than she had planned to. She didn't know why, but she felt like having someone to help her analyze this would be good, and Julie wouldn't hold back either.

Her friend asked a few questions, but for the most part let Sinead talk for the next little bit.

Finally, when Sinead was done, Julie said, "You're freaking out aren't you? I can tell from hearing you talk."

"A little." Sinead said with a sigh, looking down at the keyboard of her laptop where she was fiddling with the keys. "Ok, a lot. I mean, it's not like I'm dating a normal guy or anything which means this _relationship_ will never be normal. If it even lasts."

"Well that's not the right attitude to have." She could hear her friend's disapproving tone at the other end of the phone.

Sinead explained some of her fears about everything but Julie responded in almost the same fashion Amy had. "You don't know any of this. He sounds like a decent person, what do you have to lose?"

"You sound just like Amy." Sinead moaned.

"Amy is pretty smart. And you are too Sinead, just relax and go with the flow." A smile crept in Julie's voice. "I know that's hard for you but trust me, you will be glad that you did. And you know I'm here for you whatever happens."

"I know. Thank you Julie." Sinead said, and then asked about her friend's vacation, feeling bad for being so focused on herself. They chatted for a few more minutes before Julie had to go.

Sinead hung up and decided that now would be a good time to write, to lose herself in another world, another time. Normally she wrote about her life, but she couldn't bring herself to go in that direction right now. Not when her life had suddenly taken a different direction than what she had planned.

She sat there a moment, picked up her pen, and started writing.

* * *

 **LOCATION CHANGE!**

 **Have any of my readers been to Bora Bora before? I want to go SO bad but it's really expensive… *sigh* one day I'll meet my 'Jonah' and he can just fly us over there, no biggie ;)**


	19. Chapter 17

**As promised, here it is!**

* * *

Sinead loved flying.

She normally loved the adrenaline rush of landing in a small plane too. But now - seated next to Reagan and fifteen minutes from their destination - she found that she wasn't able to enjoy any of it. And that's because her thoughts were _screaming_ at her.

She wanted to kick herself for withdrawing two nights ago when Nellie had announced everything. Yes, she was feeling so overwhelmed and the call with Julie had helped, but had she known what the next day would hold she wouldn't have done it.

Due to Jonah's tour being so close and him having to use practically one day to fly here and then another one to London to kick it off, Broderick had stolen him away all of the previous day. Sinead tried not to mind - she knew that Jonah couldn't help it - but her being away from him that long had given her too much time to analyze things. Then when he returned there was some fiasco with planning and Nellie dragged him off with Ian to fix it, resulting in the cancellation of their date.

Now he was seated across the aisle from her with his dad. They had talked some on the 11+ hour flight, but much of his time was spent planning dances and writing stuff (who knows what) with Broderick. Again, Sinead knew that it was necessary, but she missed him. There was nothing like agreeing to date someone and then barely seeing or talking to them for almost two days.

But there was one good thing that had come out of having tons of time to think. She had finally decided to take Amy and Julie's advice and just 'go with the flow' or at least stop trying to analyze everything. She only had a few days left with Jonah and was determined to make the most of them.

A squeal from Reagan made her start and completely captured her attention. She glanced over at the younger girl who was looking out the window. "It's so pretty! Look Sinead!"

Sinead did so, leaning over and joining her in staring at the beautiful scenery. The sun was setting, casting vibrant colors in the sky. And she could see the island below, a luscious green surrounded by the bright blue of the ocean.

"Wow this is going to be great!" Nellie exclaimed from two rows in front of her.

"Bora Bora is beautiful!" Natalie agreed, "I can't wait to lie out on the beach and to go shopping!"

Even Ian, who had probably been there many times, spoke up and said, "I'm looking forward to it also. This was a great idea Nellie."

"Oh, you know me." Nellie said, trying to sound modest but failing miserably.

Sinead felt a light touch on her arm and turned from the window to see Jonah smiling at her.

"What are you looking forward to doing the most?"

 _Spending time with you. Away from our relatives._

But out loud she said, "Just relaxing I guess. Although I'm sure I'll do some sports. What about you? What do you want to do?"

"Whatever you do." He said smoothly.

"Really?" Sinead raised one eyebrow at him, trying to cover up the rush of pleasure that his words gave her. "Even jet-skiing? I wouldn't want to demolish you in front of everyone."

"I can take it." He promised with a small laugh. "I'm confident enough to lose once or twice in my life."

Sinead wanted to keep up the playful banter, but they landed and her attention was caught again by the view from the runway, which was right by the ocean.

"Wow." She said, looking past Jonah out the window. "Are those volcanos?"

"Yes," Amy answered from in front of her, and then launched into the details of the names of them and how long they had been there.

Sinead and Jonah exchanged grins at Amy's history lesson, but Sinead actually enjoyed the trivia.

They finally all stood and exited the plane, and in only a few minutes they arrived at the 15 bedroom French styled villa owned by the Kabras. They all entered, and immediately started exploring the rooms.

It didn't take them long to find the music room connected to the den on the ground floor. Some of the others just glanced around and ended up going on to other rooms, but Dan's attention was on the drum set and he ran over to check it out.

Jonah was walking over to the piano so Sinead followed him over, trying to play it off like she was just looking around too. But she caught Ned's eye and saw that he was smirking at her. She shot him an annoyed look, and then spotted Ted standing nearby and gave him one for good measure.

Since she wasn't watching where she was walking, she almost ran into Jonah who had stopped by the piano. She felt slightly embarrassed but he wasn't paying attention to her, frowning down at the instrument like he wasn't sure what it was doing there.

"It's small, not even full-length." He sat down on the bench and looked underneath the keys. "And where's the pedal?"

"Don't be such a piano snob." Sinead told him, causing Ned to laugh.

"Like you're a computer snob?" He threw his sister a knowing look.

Jonah turned from staring at the piano and turned to her instead, a curious look on his face. "You're a computer snob? What's that mean?"

"It means that she won't buy certain brands, and turns her nose up at certain programs." Ted explained.

"Yeah she's even dissed my laptop before." Dan added.

Sinead didn't appreciate them ganging up on her like that and crossed her arms in front of her.

"It's good to be picky." She muttered.

"What computers do ya like?" Jonah still looked interested.

"Dude, you don't want to go down this road." Dan advised. "It's a long and boring journey."

"Shut up Dan." Sinead said, feeling self-conscious now.

Jonah ignored Dan and reached for her hand, pulling her to sit beside him. He didn't let go, asking again about her and computers.

"I bet you're a pro at 'em." He said, pride in his voice. "Being an Ekaterina and all."

She flushed at his praise, _and_ from how close he was to her. "Not really. Ned's better at fixing and programming them than I am, but I like fooling around with them."

"Hmmm", He shot her a lazy smile, leaning his body even closer. "I think you're downplaying."

"I think I'm leaving." Dan said, wrinkling his nose and getting up from the drum set.

Ted and Ned looked at each other but didn't move.

"I think you're both leaving too." Sinead informed them, giving them the evil eye. If Jonah was about to kiss her for the first time, she didn't want her brothers around to witness it.

They just grinned, but turned and followed Dan out the door.

Sinead looked back at Jonah, but his attention was on the piano, running his fingers lightly over a couple of keys. She took this chance to gaze at his profile, admiring him for a second. For some strange reason she wanted to reach out and touch his earring.

"Do you play?" He asked her suddenly.

Sinead snorted. "I'm as musically inclined as I am talented at dancing."

"So you would be wonderful if ya tried."

"No." She looked at him in mock-exasperation, but he just chuckled and brushed her hair back from where it had fallen over her right eye. His hand lingered at her temple, and her mouth went dry. She really wasn't sure what to do. She met his gaze, wondering it this was a good time for a discussion about her inexperience with relationships.

She wasn't sure if she was ready, so she said quickly, "So I sort of wasn't honest with you earlier."

He brought his hand down to his lap and frowned, "When?"

"On the plane, when you asked me what I wanted to do the most. I didn't want to say with everyone around." She swallowed and then forced the words out. "I want to spend time with you. Alone. Away from our cousins."

He smiled slowly and brought his hand back up to her face, but this time it was to touch her cheek.

"I do too." He said, and Sinead noticed again how dark his eyes were, hooded under long lashes. She caught her breath, wondering if he was about to kiss her.

"Hi guys!" Madison bounded down the stairs, calling out to them.

Nope.

Jonah dropped his hand and smiled at his cousin, but it looked a little forced. "Hi Madison. Are you already unpacked?"

She shook her head, her long blonde hair shining in the lights. "Our luggage isn't here yet. We should explore down here, I haven't looked at anything yet!"

Then she seemed to notice how close Jonah and Sinead were sitting because her eyes widened.

"Oops, I didn't interrupt anything did I?"

"No." Sinead said quickly, standing up, feeling almost relieved at the distraction. It was crazy how badly she wanted to kiss Jonah but how hesitant she was at the same time.

 _He's probably going to know that I don't know what I'm doing. Especially with all of his experience._

Trying to shake the images that were tugging at the corner of her brain at the word 'Jonah' and 'experience' in a sentence together, she said "Let's explore."

Jonah didn't say anything, but stood up also, joining them in searching the different rooms of the villa.

They had just opened a door off of the kitchen when Natalie's voice came from behind them. "I was giving everyone a tour just a minute ago."

They all turned from the doorway, which had just led to a pantry.

"Hey Nat." Madison said, and the other girl frowned but didn't protest the nickname.

"Hello. I wanted to let you know that our luggage has arrived." She said in her proper British tone. They thanked her for informing them and Madison left with Natalie, but Jonah caught Sinead's arm.

"Hey sorry about our date fallin' through last night, and talking with my dad so much today." He said. "I think most everything is done so I should be good to spend the next few days with you, totally free from tour responsibilities."

"Ok." Sinead's heart skipped a beat. "I understand you know. I'm just glad that we have the next few days to spend together."

"Yeah?" Jonah smirked at her.

"Yes I am." She said, trying to mimic Natalie's tone but failing.

He just laughed as they headed for the stairs. Sinead almost reached for his hand, but caught herself. So far Jonah had been the one initiating all contact, not her. And even though she knew the thought was probably stupid, she didn't want to be seen as clingy. So she didn't do anything and told herself that they would have that conversation soon and it wouldn't be so awkward.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, Broderick made an announcement. "Eric is flying in and should be here in a few minutes."

Everyone looked at him blankly except for Jonah who was frowning at his dad. "Why is he coming here? I thought he was joining us on the tour?"

Then, as if noticing his cousin's expressions he explained, "Eric is my other manager; the one who manages the stuff my dad doesn't have time for. He's helping me with the staging and dances for my tour."

"Yes, well," Broderick looked uncomfortable. "I didn't know that he was coming in until he called me in the middle of the night from his layover. He isn't happy with some of the dancing sets and wants to change some stuff."

 _Today?_ Sinead thought, and from across the table Jonah was voicing the same thing.

"Today? I thought we were done. We made the tapes for the dancers with the minor edits and you said they could work on them before I got there." Jonah threw a quick glance at Sinead, and then back at his dad again.

Broderick sighed. "You know that we're already doing a lot of it without you. We need you son, this is your thing. I know how Eric gets, but he always has really good suggestions too."

Jonah just stared back at him, then at his plate, then back at his dad. He opened his mouth, but Broderick cut whatever Jonah was going to say off.

"Let's see what Eric has to say. At least give me that."

Jonah clamped his mouth shut and didn't say anything else, but Sinead could tell that he wasn't very happy.

 _Well that makes two of us._

Last night, after finishing the tour and unpacking, Sinead and Jonah had attempted to be alone several times. But with a houseful of relatives that seemed to be oblivious to that fact, they never got the chance. Her mind flashed back now to how she had finally exploded on a few of them and winced at the memory.

 _ **-Flashback-**_

" _We can do all of that tomorrow." Ian said, when Sinead again hinted about borrowing one of the many cars the Kabra's owned to go into town._

 _Sinead gritted her teeth. If their cousins would just disappear for FIVE minutes she wouldn't even have to undergo this conversation. But being alone with Jonah was like pulling teeth._

 _How in the world had they managed to be left alone so much when they weren't dating, but once they were couldn't even get a minute together? It was beyond her._

" _But Jonah and I-" She tried again, only to be interrupted by Dan._

" _Why can't you guys just hang out here?" He asked. "We are all planning on playing pool and stuff."_

" _Has is even occurred to any of you over the last few hours that maybe Jonah and I want to spend time together, ALONE?"_

 _Dan blinked at her harsh tone and Sinead immediately felt bad._

" _I'm sorry-" She started, but Nellie cut in._

" _Don't apologize._ _We're_ _sorry, it's hard getting used to the fact that you guys are dating and want alone time."_

 _Sinead blew out a breath, feeling a little awkward about this whole situation._

 _Jonah, who had been quiet so far, suddenly spoke up. "Don't worry baby, I have a plan for tomorrow so we can hang with them tonight."_

" _You have a plan?"_

" _Yeah." He stated, like it was old news. "We'll ride out with everyone to town but we're gonna split from them and go somewhere else."_

 _Now everyone was looking over, curious. Sinead felt a little uneasy but blocked them out. "Where are we going?"_

" _You'll find out."_

 _Groaning, she crossed her arms. "You know I hate surprises! I've told you that before."_

" _I know." He shot her a smirk and responded confidently. "But I'll make you change your mind."_

 _Sinead wanted to smile for some reason but managed to keep the annoyed look on her face. "Whatever." She mumbled._

 **-End flashback-**

Thinking of it now, Sinead could feel frustration start to rise again. But she kept her mouth shut, concentrating on her food instead as she tried to push down the feeling.

After breakfast everyone went into the den of the villa, not wanting to leave to explore the city until they knew if Jonah could go or not.

Finally, Eric arrived, and Sinead immediately didn't like the guy. He was tall, looming over everyone, and had a goatee that was entirely too fancy for the rest of his face, which was kind of small and scrunchy. She knew she probably was being too hard on him, he hadn't even spoken yet, but she couldn't help it.

"So Jonah, are you ready to go? I've rented a building for us to use today for the dances. I can take your updated videos to the crew tomorrow."

Jonah looked peeved. "What's wrong with the dances I've already done? It's _my_ show."

Eric ignored him. "Hopefully it won't take all day, but that depends on how much we get done. I know that you're on vacation but 'work before play' and all of that jazz."

Sinead suddenly decided that she hadn't been too hard on the guy at all, he was a major jerk. Why was Jonah letting him talk to him that way? And Broderick? She glared at Eric but he wasn't even acknowledging the rest of them.

She decided to speak up. "All he has been doing is working. Doesn't he deserve a break too?"

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Eric said, throwing her a patronizing look.

"Jonah's girlfriend, Sinead." Broderick put in quickly, "She's been really patient but she and my son haven't even gotten to go out on their first date yet."

Eric didn't even try to look sympathetic, turning back to Jonah. "Are you ready?"

Was this guy daft? And exactly how much power did he have over Jonah anyways? Sinead was getting annoyed again, but this time at her boyfriend for not standing up for himself.

"Can't I catch up the few days before the tour? I'm already flying out early." Jonah tried again.

Broderick looked sympathetic, but unyielding. "You know that we will need those days for fixing your sets up and touching up the dancing with the whole crew. I'm sorry, we will try to get done as soon as possible so that you can have this evening and tomorrow off to spend time with Sinead."

Jonah looked reluctantly back at Sinead, his eyes pleading with her to understand. She wanted to, but she couldn't push the annoyance down this time. They already had to cancel their first date because of this tour and then yesterday she had hardly spent time with him at all. It was ridiculous; he was supposed to be on vacation.

"You knew that you had a tour coming up." Eric put in, irritation evident on his face. "I don't know why you decided to start a relationship _right now._ Especially with someone who doesn't understand that you're a celebrity and have other priorities. You sure know how to pick them."

Sinead felt stunned, and from the corner of her eye saw Nellie shift in her seat and shoot Eric a dirty look. Jonah just whipped his head around and stared at him in shock.

"Excuse me?" He asked before Sinead could say anything. She was a little thrown-off to hear anger creep into his voice. "What did you just say about my _girlfriend_?!"

"Both of you are going to have to suck it up." Eric went on in that superior tone like Jonah hadn't said anything. "And _she_ is going to have to get over it."

He didn't even throw Sinead a glance and she was about to speak up when Jonah beat her to it again.

" _Her_ name is Sinead, and she's sittin' right there." Jonah stated through gritted teeth.

Eric rolled his eyes at him. "I know. And like your dad said you can play with her later. We need to go _._ "

Sinead saw Jonah visibly bristle at Eric, shooting daggers at him and not doing a thing to hide his angry expression.

Sinead was surprised. She had never seen him act like this (even though she had seen him get mad before, even at her).

The others must have been thinking that too, because she heard Ted whisper to Dan. "This isn't going to end well."

"My bet's on Jonah." The younger boy whispered back.

She glanced over to see the rest of the Cahills all looking wide-eyed at each other, and then at their celebrity cousin, who looked like he wanted to punch Eric. Sinead didn't blame him; she sort of wanted to punch him too.

But Broderick stepped in and put his hand on Eric's arm, "You've said enough Eric." He said in a firm tone, and then turned to Jonah. "We'll go wait in the car." He pulled the other man away, shooting Sinead an apologetic look as they exited.

Sinead gave him a small smile and looked back at Jonah, but he was still glaring at the direction Eric had exited.

"It's fine Jonah, really." She said, trying to sound calm.

Her earlier annoyance had evaporated; it was clear that Jonah wasn't happy about being pulled away from her today. Besides, him standing up to his manager regarding her was, well, kind of hot. It wasn't like she _needed_ him to stand up for her, but still...

"No it's not." He replied, but his voice sounded resigned now. He stood there a moment and then turned and walked over to her, crouching down in front of the chair.

He reached one hand out and grasped hers, pulling her to the edge of the seat until she was close to him. His other hand touched her hair lightly as he met her eyes. "I'm sorry Sinead. I really want to spend time with you today, not be stuck in a studio again."

There was frustration in his voice and he really did sound like he was sorry.

"Hey, Eric was right in a way, you have a major tour coming up. I understand, we can hang out later or tomorrow." She tried to keep the disappointment out of her tone but knew that he probably could see it in her eyes anyways.

He sighed, still playing with her hair. Then he leaned even closer and kissed her cheek, saying as he pulled away, "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Ok." She answered softly, hating how her heart fluttered at the chaste kiss.

"I'll text you as much as I can get away with." He shot the others a small smile as he stood up, "Catch ya all later."

He left, and Sinead blew out a long breath. "I guess I'm going with you guys today."

"You don't have to sound so excited." Dan said, but Amy hushed him, turning to Sinead.

"I'm sorry." She said, "I know it's disappointing. And that manager of his is really rude."

Sinead just stood up; she really didn't feel like talking about it, even if Amy was sincere. "It is what it is." She said briefly, closing the subject.

Thankfully no one said anything further, and they were soon off. Sinead - even though she missed Jonah and wished that she could be spending time alone with him - decided that she might as well try to have a good time.

* * *

 **I don't know which scene was my favorite to write: 'Cute piano moment that gets interrupted' or 'Jonah vs. rude manager'. *SIGHS***

 **I hope Jonah and Sinead aren't getting too out-of-character but love kind of changes some things. At least at first when you're feeling it out...besides, Jonah can't be easy-going ALL of the time, can he? ;)**


	20. Chapter 18

**I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays!**

* * *

Sinead was tired of trying to have fun.

In theory, she should have been having a blast. She had gone jet-skiing with the Holts, found some awesome shoes while shopping, and was currently sitting down and drinking some delicious tea at a cafe - some of her favorite things to do. But she missed Jonah and couldn't stop checking her phone for a text from him.

He had only texted her twice since he had left that morning with Eric and his dad, and it was nearly four in the afternoon. She sighed again, threw her phone in her purse and stood up from her chair.

"Well I guess he's not getting away anytime soon." She complained.

Nellie and Amy, who had walked over with her from the store across the street, shot her looks of sympathy.

"Sorry Sinead." Nellie said. "That sucks."

"Yeah." She said briefly, running a hand through her hair which was now tangled from the breeze.

She loved the weather here. It was much like Beverly Hills, but the air was sweeter (probably because the island was full of tropical flowers), and unfortunately windier.

Amy noticed her frustration. "My hair is doing that too. I should have put it up."

Nellie's eyes brightened. "Hey, didn't we pass a salon? Maybe we can get something done with our hair."

Throwing Sinead a look, she added, "That always makes me feel better, especially when I add colors."

"I'm not dying my hair." Sinead said quickly. "Yours looks great but I'm not that adventurous."

"Yeah, Jonah would probably freak out anyways." Nellie said offhandedly. "He seems to love your hair."

Sinead furrowed her brows at the older girl's comment. She hadn't even considered Jonah's opinion when she was thinking of not dying her hair. Is that something he would expect her to ask him about? She wasn't used to asking someone else for input before she made decisions, especially regarding ones that were personal like that.

But she stood, trailing behind Amy and Nellie as they walked to the salon which was only a couple of blocks away. She got a pedicure and manicure while Nellie got her hair done, adding orange to go with her pink and purple. Then Nellie decided to get her nails done too, so Sinead and Amy sat, waiting for her.

They had been there about an hour when Sinead spotted Dan and Natalie across the street, hailing a taxi. She quickly explained to Amy that she was going to go see what they were doing and might end up going with them. Then, she raced across the street just as they were getting in the cab.

"Hey," She said, "Where are you guys going?"

"Back to the villa. Do you want to go with us?" Dan offered.

"If you two don't mind. I'll just hang out in my room or something."

They assured her that it was fine, and she climbed in, relieved that she would get the chance to be alone for a bit. Maybe she could check on her classes and see if she could go ahead and start on an assignment or something. That would distract her for a bit.

"Have you heard from Jonah?" Natalie enquired, after they had started back.

Sinead's face fell, it was 5:00 now and she had yet to receive a text from him. "No."

She glanced at them, a thought coming to her. Dan and Natalie were still young, but they also were so different from each other like she and Jonah were, and lived really far apart.

"Does it get frustrating like this for you guys?" She asked. "Not being able to spend time with each other a lot? I know that Jonah and I haven't even gone out yet, but I'm wondering if it's going to be like this all of the time."

Natalie and Dan exchanged a look as Natalie answered. "It's hard not seeing each other. But we do video calls several times a week and phone calls all of the time. And of course we visit on breaks when we can."

"Neither of us is as busy as Jonah, that's for sure." Dan said. "I didn't realize being a celebrity was so much work."

Sinead agreed, "I know. I'm trying to be gracious since I know when I go back to school midterms and finals will crowd my schedule, but it's so early in our relationship and I just want to spend time with him."

Then, realizing that she already sounded like a whiny, dependent girlfriend, she flushed. But Dan and Natalie were both nodding.

"I understand." Natalie said.

The brunette looked like she was going to say more but the taxi pulled up to the villa.

After they got out and paid, Natalie spoke up again. "Hey Dan and I are just going to hang out by the pool. You can join us if you want."

But Sinead declined, thinking that the two of them would probably rather be alone. Instead she decided to go upstairs and busy herself with unpacking and didn't even look at her phone until almost six.

It showed that Jonah had texted her 20 minutes ago, and she hurriedly opened the message.

 _Leaving the studio now, cutting out early. Gonna stop by a few places and then I'll be there at 7 to pick ya up for our first date. Can u be ready?_

She didn't even stop to think, just texted a reply back. _Yes. See you at 7._

That only gave her an hour to get ready. She quickly showered and then went to her closet, glad that she just unpacked. But she hesitated as she scanned the rack. What kind of outfit should she wear? She hated to think that she was falling under the 'it's the first date, oh no, what do I wear' category, but she couldn't help it.

First Sinead pulled out jeans, and then wrinkled her nose. Jonah probably would take her to dinner, and if she knew him at all it would be someplace nice. But she didn't want to overkill, in case he surprised her.

She debated for several minutes, then pulled out the outfit she had bought at the boutique the night of her meltdown in the dance studio. She carefully dressed in the pale pink dress, wishing it were just a few inches longer. It fell halfway between her butt and knee, but Sinead felt like it was a lot shorter than that.

 _It's crazy that when I first tried it on it felt like the perfect length. I guess I'm just nervous_

But the silk felt good on her skin, and gave her the confidence boost she needed. After some thought she decided on a messy bun and light brown flats, not wanting to look overdressed.

Now how to do her makeup. She hesitated, then texted Natalie. _Are you busy? I'm trying to figure out what kind of makeup to wear on my date tonight with Jonah._

 _I'll be right there,_ came the reply.

In less than 5 minutes Natalie appeared, hair wet and dressed in a cover-up, squealing, "This is so exciting!"

Sinead smiled her agreement, her own excitement overriding the nerves at the moment. "I know. Thanks for helping me; I have no idea what to do with the outfit."

Natalie studied the dress, shoes, and then Sinead's face for a few seconds.

"Hmm darker pink lipstick, so your face won't be washed out. Light mascara, since your eyes are such a pretty color. Blush? Maybe..."

The younger girl was in her element, spending the next few moments debating and then picked up a makeup brush.

"Close your eyes and relax." She demanded, and Sinead obeyed.

When Natalie finally told her to look, Sinead beamed at her reflection.

Natalie was right; the lipstick complemented her complexion and was the only thing that stood out on her face. But she liked the mascara and blush being understated like they were. It just _went._

"Thanks Natalie!" She said, just as Amy and Nellie walked in.

"Wow you look nice!" Amy said. "Where are you going?"

"On a date with Jonah." She explained, "He texted and told me that he was skipping out early on Eric and his dad."

"That's good." Nellie said approvingly, then glanced at her eyes. "You know, I have some electric pink eyeshadow-"

"No I'm good." Sinead said with a quick laugh. "I'm scared to use your stuff."

Nellie looked offended, but just remarked, "Hey it's your loss. I like the lipstick though. You know where he'll be looking the entire night."

She wagged her eyebrows suggestively at Sinead, causing Amy and Natalie to laugh.

"With how distracted he's been lately? Maybe not." Sinead said, hating the insecurity that filtered through her voice.

"Trust me he'll forget all about his tour tonight or that he's a star with a busy career; one look at you and voila!" Natalie said dramatically.

"Jonah's crazy about you." Amy added, "I know he's been super busy but the fact he is taking you out means you're important to him. You can bet that Eric is mad and his dad may not happy about him cutting out early either but he's still doing it."

"You're right. They are both probably going to be upset at him." Sinead said.

She didn't really care what Eric thought, but Jonah's dad was a little different. Broderick had been nice enough to her so far, and didn't seem to have a problem with them dating. But if it started messing up Jonah's career…she made herself forget about that for the moment. _Focus on getting ready._

* * *

 _Jonah's POV_

He didn't think he had ever been so anxious in his life. It wasn't like he was _nervous_ or anything (in fact, he scoffed at the thought) but still.

 _Everything's gotta be perfect. She analyzes everything and she will tonight._

Jonah had never been a planner. All of the girls he had dated had been so wrapped up in his 'status' as a celebrity that there wasn't much pressure when taking them out. But Sinead was different.

A smile spread across his face as he thought of her, _and_ the thought of them finally getting a chance to go out on a date.

 _We've been out alone before. But that was just as friends._

It was time to pay for his items so he quickly turned his focus there, making sure his voice was disguised and he didn't meet the cashier's eyes.

Though he loved attention, he was super relieved that he hadn't been recognized yet. Of course, he _was_ a master at acting, but he still had to be cautious. Especially with Sinead. If the media found out about his new girlfriend, it would be all over. And somehow Jonah got the feeling that she wouldn't like that.

Finally reaching the car, he looked at the time and winced. He would literally have to race back to the villa to get there by seven.

 _Good thing I got a car that'll do the job. Dang I should've laid the law down sooner._

After hours of perfecting an already perfect routine, Jonah had finally snapped. Normally he went along with Eric, simply because the guy was a mastermind. I mean, he was too, of course. But even as a Janus all of the stuff he did got a little overwhelming. But Jonah had put up with all he could and finally informed both Eric and his dad that he was leaving. When Eric tried to argue Jonah had firmly stated, "I'm taking Sinead out tonight. I already have reservations and I'm not canceling them."

Eric had shut his mouth but gave him a disapproving look. But Jonah didn't care.

 _He's lucky I didn't punch him earlier, after what he said about Sinead._

Not wanting his thoughts to go in that direction again, he pushed them away. He would deal with Eric later. There were more important things to think about right now, like his date.

Whatever happened tonight, he was determined to make sure this was the best date Sinead had ever been on. And with him in charge, he was pretty sure that it would be.

* * *

 _Sinead's POV_

Twenty minutes after the pep talk from her friends, she descended the stairs, feeling a bit like Cinderella. Then she lectured herself for thinking something so _stupid_.

She could see Jonah standing at the bottom turned slightly. He didn't notice her at first, and she was glad; it gave her time to take in his profile.

He was wearing jeans, but they were the nice kind. He also had on a black suit jacket with a white t-shirt, but he made the simple outfit look both classy and sexy at the same time.

As soon as she came to this conclusion he turned, eyes lighting up when he saw her.

"You're stunning." He said, before she even got to the bottom step. "Wow."

She blushed slightly, feeling like she was in a movie and hating it but she just smiled at him, reaching him at the bottom. "You look great yourself."

He reached behind him and produced flowers.

"Your favorite." He said proudly.

And he was right. They were cymbidium orchids.

"They're beautiful." She breathed, surveying the whites and greens. She didn't ask him how he knew that. She was sure he had texted and asked someone, which just meant that he went to extra effort to find out and then get them.

Sinead had never really been a 'flowers' girl - she _hated_ clichés - but somehow it didn't bother her now, them coming from Jonah.

 _He really does have the ability to change my mind about things. But I should probably keep that to myself for a while._

So she took the flowers from him and admired them, then reached behind Jonah to put them back on the table.

"I'll put them in my room when we come back." She promised. "Thank you Jonah."

She looked into his eyes, which had a happy glow in them.

"You're welcome baby. Are ya ready to go?" He asked her.

"Yes." What a stupid question, she had been ready for days.

He led her out to a vehicle she hadn't seen before. It was flashy of course, and red.

"What's this?" Sinead asked, sure that she wouldn't recognize the name.

"A Ferrari." He answered, opening the door for her. "The new ones just came out so not many people have seen them."

She climbed in, feeling weird. None of her previous boyfriends had held the door of the car open for her. But Jonah was different.

He got in also and started the car. Not wanting it to get awkward, she asked, "When did you get this? And the flowers? And where did you change at?"

He grinned at the multiple questions. "I'm just good." He said smugly, then laughed at her annoyed look.

"I called this morning and had this rental car delivered to the studio." He explained. "I was determined to cut out early enough to take you out. That's why I hardly got to talk to you today."

He shifted the car into drive after backing out, and Sinead was surprised by how smooth it felt, although she shouldn't have been.

Jonah went on. "I'm sorry about that. I know it was probably frustrating. But I was trying to get enough done to leave without a huge fight."

" _Was_ there a fight?" Sinead asked, feeling relieved that he had a reason for not texting her that much, and was secretly thrilled that he went to so much effort for her.

"Not really. Everything is fine." He assured her. "Anyways, so I had the car, but had to go find the flowers. Then I ran out of time and wasn't wearing the right clothes so I stopped at a store and bought this outfit. I didn't think I had time to change at the villa, but I thought showing up and waiting downstairs would be better anyways."

"What do you mean, _better_?" Sinead was confused.

He looked like he didn't want to tell her, but after a few seconds of her staring at him curiously he finally sighed and said, "I thought it would be more romantic. Like more of a date than if I just met you in the hallway or something."

Sinead was touched, and she didn't really know what to say. But he glanced over at her briefly so she tried to convey it with her eyes. It must have worked, because he reached over and squeezed her hand lightly. Then, keeping their fingers laced together he rested them on the gearshift.

"Can you drive this thing one-handed?" Sinead asked skeptically.

As soon as the words left her mouth she wanted to kick herself for the question. She really didn't want him to let go of her hand.

"Like a pro." He smirked. "I'm good at everything."

She rolled her eyes at his conceit.

"Except for checking that ego." She mumbled, but there was no bite in her tone.

They fell into a comfortable silence, and Sinead couldn't resist anymore, finally reaching with her free hand to mess with the features of the car.

She couldn't help it, it was in her blood.

"So," He said, "You said you weren't that great at computers, even though I know you're probably better at 'em than most people. But what do you specialize in?"

Even though she knew what he meant, she hesitated, feeling weird about bragging on herself.

He mistook her hesitation for confusion, because he added. "Like I'm a Janus but I don't paint or anything. The art I do comes through my music."

"I like gadgets, codes, that sort of thing." Sinead said. "I'm really good at trivia too."

"Oh yeah, you rocked at that during Cranium." He said, and she had to look away, remembering all of his flirting with her then.

"So what things do you do in your branch?" He asked, and then said quickly. "Not that I'm trying to spy. I don't do anything special in my branch, I just go around and perform, do my thing."

"Well, before the clue hunt my only goal was to win. Since then I've mainly spent my time and efforts focusing on finding a cure for Ned and Ted." She answered, her voice going soft when she brought up her brothers.

"Oh yeah." He nodded knowingly. "Care to talk about that? I know it's a hard topic."

She pursed her lips, looking over at him. "I'm not sure if I should. Not because I don't want to tell you, but it's probably not good first-date material."

Jonah gave her a funny look. "Is there such thing as first-date material?"

"Well yeah." She frowned, launching into explanation of a book she had read regarding the topic.

Sinead could tell that he was trying not to smile while she was talking, but she ignored him, feeling confident in her research.

She wrapped it up with, "So you're constantly on your guard and watching your words-"

But she stopped when Jonah started laughing.

"What?" She glanced at him suspiciously.

"I was just thinking about you and the phrase 'watching words'. Anyways, it's not like those rules apply to us. We've already experienced so much together before tonight."

She winced, thinking of all of the ups and downs of their first week together. "Like all of our fighting. And the concert."

"And cooking together, writing that song, you hugging me _twice_ ," He stopped to smirk at her, "me crying in front of you, you crying in front of me…"

"You're right." She said, feeling a little embarrassed now. "I was being totally stupid by saying that."

Now he was the one frowning. "Don't say that, you're not stupid. I'm glad you said somethin', now you can relax."

"I'm relaxed." She said quickly. Too quickly.

He looked like he was going to argue the subject but she was saved by their arrival at the restaurant.

"Stay there." Jonah said, jumping out of the car.

She couldn't help but smile again as he opened her door and took her hand, leading her into the restaurant.

It looked fancy. And romantic, Sinead noted.

"This restaurant only serves six couples at a time, and I made sure that our table was the most private one here." Jonah commented as they ascended the steps. "Tonight is the last night I wanna be recognized."

Sinead nodded, agreeing with him. She didn't even want to think about crowds of fans and cameras in their face while they were eating.

A disturbing thought hit her though; Jonah never seemed to mind crowds. So why was it such a big deal tonight?

 _He's not embarrassed to be seen with me, is he? I mean, I'm not the type he normally dates..._

She immediately felt horrible for even letting the thought cross her mind, and decided instead to focus on the decor of the place as they walked in.

It was gorgeous - Mediterranean-style by the looks of it - with fresh flowers hanging everywhere in the front.

She felt butterflies again, and took a breath, telling herself to calm down. It was just Jonah, the guy who she got into arguments and teamed up in Cranium with.

 _And the guy who you really, really like._

"Hey, loosen up." He said, noticing her anxiety. "Maybe you should go back to pretending you hate me or something."

She shot him a glare. "That's not funny."

He just pulled her inside, and they didn't have to wait at all before being seated at their table.

The back of the restaurant was even fancier than the front. It was elegant, with candles and linen tablecloths that you found at a lot of nice restaurants. But they were seated outside, away from the other tables, and it was the most beautiful place Sinead had ever eaten at.

"Wow." She said, not even attempting to hide the admiration in her voice.

"Wait until you see the menu." Jonah sent her a wink.

She went to sit down, but he was at her side in a moment, pulling out her chair.

The action made her blush, and she tried to cover it up with shooting out, "You know that I'm capable of pulling a chair out right? And opening doors?"

"I know." He said, a smile in his voice as he sat down across from her. "This is good for you though."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"You need to let me do nice things for you. I want to." He said it seriously, and she wanted to kick him under the table for saying something so sappy.

 _This is your first date together Sinead, that wouldn't be nice._

So instead she said, "I'll try. But I want to do nice things for you too."

"You agreed to date me." Jonah said, "And understood when I had to cancel the other day and put up with Eric's comments about you, way better than I did."

Sinead didn't want to talk about Eric, so she latched onto his first sentence.

"Uh, weren't _you_ the one who agreed to date _me_?" She asked playfully.

He frowned. "No, I asked you to dinner remember?"

"But only after I confronted you about my feelings. There wouldn't have been a dinner date if I had not done that."

He eyed her. "I would have eventually asked ya out."

"Really?" Her heart skipped a beat.

Jonah gave her an exasperated look. "Of course, I've liked you for a while. I just was afraid that if I talked to you about it you would run off and never speak to me again."

"You've liked me for a while? Since when?" Sinead hated how obvious her curiosity was but she really wanted to know. Could his feelings have been as early-on as hers were?

"Since the night on the patio when you analyzed my song; but when I first met you I felt a little interest." He said nonchalantly, like confessing it was no big deal.

"When you first met me? I wasn't even that friendly and we barely spoke that day!" She was floored.

"Hey you're gorgeous. Can you blame me? And spunky, that was obvious right away."

 _Gorgeous?_

She mentally brushed the word off as she gaped at him (knowing that he was just exaggerating) still stuck on the 'when I first met you' part. Sinead knew that most guys experienced the 'fall in love at first sight' syndrome, but with their first meeting she would have thought that impossible.

"Wow." She said faintly.

The waiter came up then, and she realized that they hadn't even looked at their menus.

Jonah glanced at her. "You don't mind if I order wine for us to share do ya? I won't order your food for you but I know which wine taste the best here"

"Go ahead." Sinead shrugged. She wasn't much of a drinker, and knew that Jonah probably wasn't either (given his past with alcohol) but a little wine wouldn't hurt. Besides, the action would sidetrack him from asking _her_ when she had started falling for him.

Jonah ordered, and then they looked at the menus. All of the items were fancy, and Sinead recognized some of the names from when she had been googling for their cooking contest.

"A lot of these are French dishes." She noted, then thought to herself, _Duh Sinead, this is a 'French' island._

He grinned. "Yeah I thought it was fitting." He pointed out a couple things on the menu but left her to decide.

The evening went pretty well, and Sinead felt herself relaxing more and more as it went on. When they were back to the car, Jonah looked at the clock.

"It's still early." He said, "Do you wanna go walk around a little?"

"Sure." She answered, not wanting this evening to end so quickly either. Plus, if they went back, Eric might try to kidnap Jonah and she wasn't in the mood to take his attitude again.

They had only been driving a few minutes when Jonah made a sudden U-turn. Turning to her, he grinned and stated, "I know somewhere you would absolutely love."

 _Uh-oh._

* * *

 **I just want to say thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and is following this story! I write so much better with feedback! Y'all are awesome! - yes, I'm from the southern United States with the 'y'all' ;) my Canadian friends make fun of me all the time for that word! Lol**


	21. Chapter 19

**HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE READING!**

 **Now on to part two of Jonah and Sinead's first date!**

* * *

Sinead hadn't known what to expect when Jonah changed course and had even felt a little wary. But she shouldn't have been.

"This is awesome." She told him.

He had taken her for a walk on the beach. At first, Sinead wasn't sure why he had been so excited. Sure, it was beautiful and all, but then she had heard the music. Farther up the beach a live band was out playing acoustic rock.

Jonah didn't go up to the crowd (probably still worried about being recognized) but they could hear the music clear enough from where they had decided to stop and sit and she actually enjoyed the stillness.

The sun had already set, so it was a little breezy, but warm. Sinead took her hands and started running them through the sand, then sighed and looked over the water.

"I know, it's beautiful out here." Jonah replied.

He too was looking over the water, a thoughtful look on his face.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked curiously, hoping that he wouldn't reply 'you' or something else totally cliché.

"How when you look over the ocean and the vastness of everything and take into account the different cultures and customs all over the world, life just seems so..." He trailed, trying to find a word.

Sinead frowned. She wasn't one for poetry or 'why are we here' questions so she wasn't sure how to answer him. But he must have snapped out of whatever because he turned and smiled at her.

"Never mind." He said, "Night makes me like that sometime."

They sat for a few minutes, basking in the moonlit ocean and sounds from the band, then Jonah spoke up. "So what do you wanna do tomorrow? Our cousins are going to the beach."

Sinead shrugged. "I hadn't thought about it." She said truthfully. "I want to spend as much time with you as possible, but I also want you to get to spend time with them too."

He looked over at her. "What about you? Don't you wanna spend time with them?"

"I already have today." She pointed out. "And yesterday."

At his contrite expression, she felt bad and added, "Plus when you leave, I'll spend plenty of time with them."

"Yeah." His thinking face came back. "We could go to the beach with everyone tomorrow, then hang out again by ourselves tomorrow night. The next day is when I fly out."

Sinead swallowed hard. "What time?"

"Later in the day, so we can spend that day together too. Sound cool?"

"Sure. You're a good planner." She said admiringly.

He let out a short laugh. "Not really. I have to make myself do it with my career, but even then my dad does most of the planning."

Sinead shot him a disbelieving look. "You planned plenty today."

"But that's cause it's you." He said. "I hafta work hard to impress someone like you."

"Someone like me?" She wasn't sure whether to be offended or not.

"Yeah you're super intelligent." He said factually, like he was stating one needed oxygen to breathe.

A smile tugged at her mouth at the compliment but Jonah was still talking, "And it's a good thing but you have high expectations. It makes someone like me, who normally just goes with the flow, a little nervous."

" _You_ get nervous? Around me?" She scoffed to cover up her surprise. "I'm not the person in this relationship that is super talented and super famous."

 _And super hot._

He shot her a look. "You're talented too. And who cares about fame?"

She just shook her head in mock annoyance. The subject changed shortly after that to other things, and Sinead was glad. After about an hour of relaxing and talking, they headed back to the villa, although Sinead didn't think either of them really wanted to.

Jonah got her door for her again and they headed up the steps. Sinead wasn't sure what they would do when they entered - it was a little awkward staying at the same place - but Eric and Broderick were sitting in the front room, answering that question for them.

"Hey you two." Jonah's dad smiled. "How was your date?"

"It was good." Jonah answered vaguely. "What are you two still doing up? Aren't ya flying back early tomorrow Eric?"

Eric nodded, "Your dad is too. We were just discussing some things. Looks like we are good to go and we will see you in London on Wednesday."

"Hey everyone is out in the pool. I think they set a volleyball net up too, if you guys want to join them." Broderick put in.

"Sounds great to me." Sinead said, relieved that she wouldn't have to worry about what to do. "I'll just go change."

She backed up, feeling awkward in front of Broderick and Eric, especially since Jonah had skipped out on them early. But neither man seemed perturbed, just politely said goodbye, even Eric.

She didn't know if Jonah was behind her or not, but when she got to the top of the stairs she could hear him still talking downstairs.

Quickly changing, she put on her bathing suit but also put a t-shirt and shorts over it, remembering back to the last time Jonah had seen her in her bathing suit. She had felt self-conscience enough in her dress all evening, catching his admiring gaze several times.

As she took down her hair and removed her makeup, she thought over the night and felt pleased that everything had gone so well.

 _I didn't do anything stupid. And it was nice to be alone with him._

Five minutes later, she was ready to go. It was quiet downstairs, and she saw that the front room was empty when she walked through it.

The calmness didn't last long though; she could hear the noise from outside before she even opened the door.

"Sinead!" Reagan hollered. Sinead smiled back at her cousin, then glanced around and noticed that Jonah wasn't there yet.

"Did you have fun on your date? Where did you go?" This came from Madison.

Sinead evaded the question, not really wanting to give details to everyone.

"It was good." She used the same phrase that Jonah had with his dad. Walking over to the pool, where everyone was but Amy, she asked, "Who's winning? That's the team I want to be on."

"Mine!" Dan said, "We have all of the good players."

"Hey!" Natalie protested, who was on the opposite team of her boyfriend.

"Except for you sweetheart." Dan quickly added, shooting her a big grin. "You're amazing."

"Awww!" Nellie gushed, but then rolled her eyes. "Nice save."

Sinead thought it was kind of funny how Natalie perked up at the obvious kissing up, but laughed a little. Natalie and Dan really had changed a lot since they had started dating. Sinead wondered if she and Jonah would do the same. It was just too weird to think of long-term after only one date though, so she had a hard time picturing it.

Ted's voice cut into her thoughts. "Hey Jonah, come be on our team! We need help!"

Sinead turned and saw that Jonah was approaching them, coming to stand beside her.

"Ok." He said easily. Then he looked at her. "Which team are you on?"

"Dan's." She said, frowning at his attire. He was still wearing the jeans and white shirt from their date.

"Why didn't you change?" She asked, puzzled, then hoped that she didn't sound to critical, like she was nagging or something.

"I forgot to pack my swim stuff. But I can buy new clothes, no biggie." He said, sounding unfazed, hopping down in the pool and taking his place on the team. "Besides, I wouldn't want my tattoos to throw you off your game or somethin'."

She froze, slowly throwing each of her cousins a deadly look.

" _Who",_ she emphasized through clenched teeth, "Has been talking to Jonah?"

Everyone's eyes had widened into innocent expressions, but she could also see that they were trying to hold back laughs.

She sighed. "Never mind. You know what? I'm not ashamed."

She got into the pool also, loving the feel of the warm water swirling around her.

"So I like a few tattoos. So do other people." Refusing to let herself get embarrassed by her annoying cousins, she shot them all a sweet smile. "What's the score?"

A few moments later, the game had ended and they were talking about starting a new one, the losing team demanding a rematch.

Sinead, who noticed that Amy had just been sitting at the other end of the pool dipping her feet in and not saying anything to anyone, excused herself from the game.

"I need to unwind for a second." She shot over her shoulder as she joined Amy.

She didn't say anything for a moment, until Amy finally looked up and Sinead saw that her eyes were red.

"What happened?" Sinead demanded.

"Tell me about your date." Amy said, like she didn't hear her, but Sinead shook her head.

"We can talk about that some other time." She said firmly. "What's wrong Amy? Did something happen while I was gone?"

Amy looked down. "No."

Sinead wanted to push, but knew that it probably wasn't the best thing to do. Instead, she just sat silently by her friend, wishing that Amy would tell her so she could try to help. It wasn't right that Sinead had just had one of the best evenings of her life when her friend obviously hadn't.

"I really would like to hear about your night." Amy said after a few moments. "Please, it will be a good distraction."

She sighed but gave in, hoping that it wouldn't make her feel worse. "Well, he took me to a really fancy French restaurant. Then we walked on the beach and sat and listened to a band play some music. It was nice."

"It sounds like it." Amy's eyes lit up. "How did he act? Did he try to kiss you?"

"He was really sweet." Sinead admitted, keeping her voice low, although with the noise the game was making, she doubted anyone but Amy could hear her. "He opened my doors, pulled out my chair, bought me my favorite flowers, complimented my outfit and everything. No kissing though, which is fine, I don't mind taking it slow."

Knowing that Amy would keep a secret and suddenly wanting to share other stuff with her, she added. "It was the little things too. Like he actually asked me first if I would care if he ordered our drinks. And then he took me to that beach because he remembered that the last time he came here they played the kind of music I like."

Amy grinned, "See? He's not bad at all, just like I tried to tell you the first few days."

Before Sinead could say anything, she stated, "But I know that you know it now. I'm glad that he's treating you good."

"He totally is." Sinead agreed. "And it's so easy to talk to him. I felt awkward at first, but he noticed and told me to relax, which helped."

They sat there for a few more seconds, and then Sinead tried again.

"Are you sure you're ok? Don't worry about messing with my night or anything stupid like that. You're my friend." She said firmly.

Amy didn't say anything at first, frowning up at the sky.

Finally, she said "It's just hard. Being around Ian. Earlier we hung out away from everyone else and it was a lot of fun."

She sighed, turning towards Sinead. "But then he withdrew on the way back and would barely even look at me. I hate it. I can't deal with his mood swings anymore. And I wish I didn't care so much."

Sinead felt a wave of sympathy for her friend, remembering how she had felt a few days prior when she didn't think she and Jonah could be together. It was an awful feeling.

"Amy, I'm sorry. I wish that there was something I could do."

She just shook her head. "You don't have to feel sorry for me. I'm being an idiot. Here I am, letting it ruin my evening when I should be over there having fun."

Amy gestured towards the other end of the pool, where Nellie was shouting at a teammate for missing the ball but ended up laughing because they accidentally fell backwards into the water trying.

"He's having a grand time." Amy muttered bitterly.

Sinead found Ian in the crowd and actually thought that he looked miserable, but didn't think it wise to mention to Amy.

"Let's go over there." Sinead said firmly. "Show him that you are fine without him."

Amy wrinkled her nose but agreed cautiously.

Sinead led the way, sliding up beside Dan. "Amy and I are joining you."

They had the same teams as earlier so she spotted Jonah across from her. He flickered his eyes from Sinead to Amy and looked slightly concerned, but when he noticed Sinead's glance he threw her a wink and a warm smile.

She smiled back but darted her gaze away, not wanting to endure more teasing from anyone.

Just like the volleyball game on land the prior week, Sinead's team was winning. Everyone had been missing the ball occasionally, but no one had as much as Jonah, she observed.

Ted noticed too as another ball sailed right by the star's head. "Man!" He complained. "You didn't even try to go for it. It was right by you!"

"Oh sorry." But Jonah seemed preoccupied, barely looking at him.

Reagan put in. "You told us you could play volleyball, what's your deal?"

"It's not my fault." He protested. "Sinead's distracting me."

"How is it my fault you suck?" Sinead said incredulously. "I'm just standing here!"

The look he shot her spoke more than anything he could have said in response. She blushed at his lingering gaze, and decided that perhaps it was time to go in.

She lifted her chin. "Fine, I'll just go inside. Then I won't 'throw your game off or somethin'." She quoted back to him as she turned and climbed out of the pool.

"Hey you can't leave!" Jonah protested. "Our date hasn't ended."

"I thought our date ended when we walked in the front door earlier?"

"I haven't kissed you goodnight yet." The grin in his voice was evident.

Sinead froze, but heard snickering from behind her and decided that two could play this game.

"Well, you know that book I was talking about earlier? It states that kissing on the first date is a huge faux pas. So sorry." She said this airily, grabbing for her towel.

She had barely wrapped it around her when he appeared right beside her, reaching for his towel also and throwing her a patient smile.

"Too bad I don't care _what_ your dang book says."

Behind them, Nellie groaned. "This is like Dan and Natalie all over again."

"Actually," Natalie said in a prim voice, "Daniel and I have never argued about kissing."

"Sinead and Jonah are way worse." Dan agreed. Then he turned to them. "Can you please take your fighting inside? My delicate ears really don't want to hear this."

"We were just leaving." Jonah said, putting his arm around her and guiding her to the door.

Sinead let out a long suffering sigh, but didn't protest. Anyways, she kind of liked the way she could feel his hand on her waist through the thin material of her t-shirt.

"We have to stop and get my flowers." She reminded him as they entered the front room, trying to push down her nerves about kissing him. She definitely wanted to, but had only kissed a few guys. None of them had been very good at it, either not knowing what to do (like her) or trying to take it too far too soon.

She moistened her lips, wishing that they weren't so dry, _and_ that she had talked to Jonah already about her amateur relationship skills. Now just didn't seem like a good time. She glanced over at his profile but he was reaching for the flowers with his right hand, still keeping his left one around her.

"Hey." She decided to say instead, after they had reached the top of the steps. She waited until he looked at her, and then continued softly, "Thanks for taking me out. You really put a lot of effort into it, and I know that Eric and your dad probably weren't happy and-"

He cut her off, "Sinead."

"What?"

They were at the door, so he handed her the flowers, then turned to face her.

"Thank _you_ for being the best date I've ever had."

"Really?" The thought warmed her, and she couldn't stop the happy smile from spreading across her face.

"Really." He said firmly.

His gaze fell to her lips, and she swallowed, trying not to freak out about what was about to happen.

But he surprised her, only leaning in and kissing the corner of her mouth lightly then stepping back, eyes locked with hers.

"Goodnight." He said.

Her answer came out in a whisper. "Goodnight."

She watched him leave, then closed the door softly and leaned against it, a huge smile slowly spreading across her face.

 _What a night._

* * *

 **:D**

" **I haven't kissed you goodnight yet" might possibly be my favorite line of this whole story...which might sound like I'm bragging but I'm not, really. I mean, it's JONAH'S line, he just forced me to write it for him ;)**


	22. Chapter 20

The next morning continued its trend of being sunny, an ideal day for the beach.

That's what was going through Sinead's mind anyways when she opened the French Casement window in the den and breathed in the fresh air.

"Isn't it lovely?" Natalie sighed, as if reading her thoughts. They were the only two in the den at the moment. Nellie was still upstairs getting ready and everyone else had gathered in the music room next door.

"Very lovely." Sinead agreed.

While she enjoyed the presence of other people, the stillness of the room was nice. Plus she was feeling a little tired. It had taken her ages to fall asleep the night before, her thoughts racing and replaying her date with Jonah over and over again. But regardless she had woken up all chipper, causing a little teasing from her brothers but she ignored them as she ate breakfast - all while exchanging little looks and smiles with Jonah. So what if she was overly happy due to the past night? Was it a crime?

Anyways, it wasn't like they were being overly mushy like some couples would be, so everyone else could shove it. With this in mind, Sinead sat there a few more moments, closing her eyes and letting her body relax.

But the peace only lasted for a little bit before she heard Amy call for her and Natalie from the other room. "Hey you two come here for a second!"

Sinead groaned but got up and joined the others around the piano, where it looked like a huge debate was going on.

"What's going on?" Sinead inquired, not really paying attention. Her thoughts were still on the flowers outside the window, which were native to the island.

She wished that she could pack them up and take them home with her. Better to keep that thought to herself though. If she mentioned it out loud she felt like Jonah would somehow make it happen. Heck, he probably would buy the entire island, just to show off.

 _Would he do it to brag, or do it to make you happy? How deep do his feelings run anyways?_ The thought came to her but she pushed it aside, not wanting to get caught up in worrying about things.

Making herself focus on the current situation, she noticed something different in the room she had just entered. Instead of the piano that Jonah had insulted the previous day, he was sitting behind a brand new sparkling one.

"Where did that come from?" She asked, a little taken aback.

"Oh that." Ian said airily. "After we heard how Jonah _insulted_ our other piano, Natalie and I had this imported."

"Oh." She wanted to roll her eyes at his snobbery, but also felt amused that the Kabras felt like they had to get a new one just because of a comment from Jonah.

 _I guess they have to keep up their reputation._

"Anyways, we need your help." Madison said. "Jonah won't play or sing for us, so we are trying to convince him."

Sinead glanced at her boyfriend, who wore a reluctant expression, then back at Madison.

"Why don't you sing Madison? And you play Amy?" Sinead asked, not knowing why Jonah didn't want to but not really wanting to join in the fight.

Jonah's eyes lit up and he threw her a grateful look. "Great idea!"

But Amy shook her head, frowning at Jonah. "No way. I've already played in front of you twice and you're way better than me."

"Come on Jonah," Dan pleaded from behind the drums. Sinead hadn't noticed him back there before, but now observed that he looked pretty bummed. "I really want to play the drums and I need music."

Jonah sighed, but his fingers hovered over the keys. "What should I play?"

"Oooh do you know any Elliott Yamin songs?" Madison asked hopefully. "I normally just like country but I love his voice."

"Yeah I know a few."

"What about 'Wait for You'?" This came from Natalie, who strangely had a dreamy look in her eye.

"Nah, too sad." Jonah shook his head, then started playing a song that Sinead didn't recognize.

He started singing it, and she realized that it was pretty romantic - obviously from a guy's point of view who was trying to describe the person he was with.

Sinead felt a little uncomfortable at the fact that Jonah, _her boyfriend_ , was singing the lines but told herself that she was being stupid.

 _Singing and these types of songs are his career. You can't take everything like he's serenading you or something._

With that thought firmly in her mind she relaxed and leaned on the instrument, letting the sweetness of the melody take over. But something changed on the second verse.

He sang the line _'Always there when I was going through all kinds of changes'_ and she noticed that he faltered on a key, a frown coming on his face, but wasn't sure what to make of it. Then he got to the part, _'You kept me lifted, said I'm gifted and you know I'm gonna make it'_ and completely stopped, causing Dan to miss a beat.

"Sorry." Jonah said, the word coming out strangled.

Sinead was confused and could sense that she wasn't the only one, given the looks displayed on different faces around the piano. As she studied Jonah though she noticed that his eyes were blank, reminding her of another time.

 _The pier._

Before she could let it sink in Dan was saying, "Dude, it's fine, we can..." but trailed when Jonah got up abruptly.

"You know what, I think I forgot my beach towel. I'll just go get it."

Ned frowned at him, "It's at the top of your bag in the-" He started, but Jonah was already gone, practically shooting from the room.

The remaining Cahill's all stared after him.

"That was pretty weird." Dan said finally, and everyone agreed.

Nellie entered at that moment, also looking a bit thrown-off. "Is Jonah ok? I just passed him and said hi but he acted like he didn't even hear me. And that's strange because I sang it to him and no one can ignore my singing."

"No, we have no idea." Amy frowned. "Sinead?"

But the redhead shook her head helplessly, "I don't know."

She looked at the door, debating on what to do.

 _He was fine until he sang those words._ And then realization hit her. _Cora._

She bit her lip. It made perfect sense. The lyrics were about someone who encouraged and believed in another person - something that Cora Wizard couldn't even manage to do for her own son.

The others were talking amongst themselves, trying to figure it out still, but Sinead kept quiet. If that's what it was it wasn't anyone else's business but his, and she was sure that he would tell them in time. Or not at all if he didn't want to.

After a few minutes had passed however, she glanced at the door again, not sure if Jonah was going to come back or not. Should she go after him?

But her question was answered when he appeared back in the doorway.

"Hey guys." His tone was mellow, but his face determined. "Can we talk for a sec?"

They followed him into the den, all sitting down quietly. There weren't any empty seats when Sinead trailed in at the back, so she sat on the arm of a couch right by the chair Jonah was sitting in.

"Before we go there is something I need to tell you." He said seriously.

Sinead could tell that the group was thrown-off, not used to Jonah being this serious. But they were staying quiet, looking at him with rapt expressions.

"Sorry I left in the middle of the song like that." He said. "I know everyone is wonderin' what in the world it was about, except maybe Sinead. She knows part of this."

When Jonah said her name he glanced at her with a slight smile, but now he took a deep breath and faced the group again. "But I'm about to tell you all of it."

The room was quiet, waiting patiently for the bombshell he was sure to drop.

"The thing is those lyrics reminded me of Cora."

Sinead saw a couple of frowns at his mother's given name coming out of his mouth. But Jonah explained, telling them pretty much what he had told her the day in the studio, that his mother had disowned them and that his parents were divorcing.

"I know I can trust you guys with this like I trust Sinead not to say anything to anyone." His words warmed her, even as she kept her eyes steadily on his face, knowing how hard this was for him to confess.

There were a lot of sympathetic looks and 'I'm sorry's' that were sent in his direction, but he waved them off.

"There's more." He said grimly. "The phone call I got the other day..."

He trailed off, looking around the room and finally focused on a painting above the fireplace. Sinead braced herself, hating that he hadn't told her yet. He looked so forlorn that she wanted to go over, sit on his lap, and just hug him.

"She's tryin' to get my Janus status revoked."

Sinead could hear gasps of shock around the room and her head whirled, all thoughts of comforting Jonah pushed aside.

 _What?!_

Before she even knew what she was doing, she had jumped up from the edge of the couch and voiced it.

"What?!" Her voice sounded hot with anger, and she realized that she was in fact, _furious._

And she wasn't the only one. She could hear Dan's voice rise above the others. "She can't do that!"

Then he added, "Can she?"

Jonah started to say something, but Sinead cut in. "Absolutely not!"

She could feel protectiveness for him rising again, but didn't care how she appeared to her cousins and brothers this time.

Turning to Jonah, she asked almost accusingly, "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

He was staring at her, not seeming to know what to make of her reaction. He just shrugged, eyeing her cautiously.

"I dunno. Why are you so mad?" His calm voice irked her, making her anger more prominent in her next words.

" _WHY_ am I so mad?" She ranted, "I'll tell you why I'm mad, no, why I'm _livid_. You're a huge celebrity. You sing, you dance, you produce, you write your own freaking songs. How much more Janus can you get?"

He started to say something but she didn't let him, not being able to stop the words from pouring out of her mouth. "Oh wait, you didn't win the Clue Hunt? Who the heck cares! What is she, jealous that you're doing so well or that you obviously have a lot more integrity than she does?"

Inhaling sharply when she felt herself getting so upset that her eyes filled up with tears, she halted and turned to the door.

"Excuse me."

She knew that it would look worse if she left, but she wanted to cry her frustration out or go find a wall to punch. How could Cora do that to her son who worked so hard?

"Sinead." Jonah's voice was soft. "Wait, please."

She stopped in the doorway, leaning against the cool wood and told herself to calm down, but she didn't turn.

A sigh could be heard from behind her but he started talking.

"Look everyone, I know that you're all upset, and rightly so. _I'm_ upset. But I don't know what else to do. My dad and I have been tryin' to figure it out but it just happened so…" He trailed.

Natalie, who had been fairly quiet, spoke up. "Why haven't you spoken with me and Ian about it?"

"You and Ian?" Jonah's voice sounded confused.

"Yes, we disowned our mother remember?" This came from Ian. "She tried to do the same thing and throw us out of the Lucian branch, but we prevented her from doing so."

"Oh yeah, you told us in the gauntlet." Hamilton said. "Wasn't Jonah unconscious then?"

"Yeah I don't remember anything like that." Jonah's voice sounded hopeful, "What did you do? How did ya go about it?"

"It's a bit of a long process, but we can talk to you about it; perhaps tonight when we return from the beach?" Ian suggested.

Sinead, feeling better now that there seemed to be a solution, wiped her eyes and hoped that she looked composed enough. She slowly turned around.

No one was looking at her, all eyes on the Kabras.

"Yes, thank you." Jonah sounded relieved.

"Dude, if there is anything the rest of us can help you with, we're in." Nellie said.

Amy chimed in, "I know it was hard for you to tell us, but I'm glad you did." She said firmly. "We care about you, and definitely will help with whatever you need."

Sinead softened as the rest of the group agreed, vocally showing their support. She was still angry though, her stomach churning from emotion, and wanted to fly to wherever Cora Wizard was and kick her butt.

Everyone started to gather their stuff then to leave, and though they shot Sinead encouraging smiles as they passed her in the doorway no one said anything to her.

Then it was just her and Jonah, and she took a breath, meeting his eyes.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

He looked surprised. "For what, standing up for me like that? I hate how you were upset and all but it was kinda sexy."

She smiled in spite of her guilt. He always threw in stuff like that at the most random moments.

"I should have been comforting _you_ ", She said apologetically. "Instead I freaked out in front of everyone. And almost left."

He stood up and got both of their bags, then walked over, stopping just in front of her.

"It's ok. I know why you did." His eyes flickered over her face. "Thanks for what you said. It meant a lot to me."

She couldn't hold his gaze, getting embarrassed again over her outburst and remembering the words she had said in front of everyone.

"It's all true." She muttered, pretending to be really interested on removing the lint from her shirt.

"I still appreciate it." He stated. "Come on, I bet everyone is waiting for us."

* * *

 **So I've mentioned before that I don't care for song fics...but two lines don't count right? Anyways, I randomly heard this song two months ago and sat down to write this scene...I wasn't even sure if it would be in the story but it just ended up fitting.**

 **And yeah this chapter is kind of short, but the next one is my longest one yet. I was going to make this one longer and the next one shorter but it just didn't flow right. So don't worry, it will cancel out ;)**

 **ONLY TWO CHAPTERS LEFT! :D**


	23. Chapter 21 Pt 1

**Shout out to 'godsgirl13' for the review! I normally respond via pm but it wouldn't let me message you. Thanks so much for the review, and hold tight for the kiss, it may or not be coming up soon ;)**

 **So this chapter was so long that I decided to split it up. In my experience of reading fanfics, sometimes an extra-long chapter (like longer than normal) would throw me off and would be hard to read. I don't know maybe it's just me…..**

 **But anyways part two is uploaded at the same time so you won't have to wait :)**

* * *

They finally all made it to the beach, leaving shortly after Jonah's bombshell. Sinead still felt emotional over it but had calmed down by letting Jonah know that she wanted to be in on the discussion that night with the Kabras - if he didn't mind of course. He assured her that he didn't. Then he added that he would love for her to be involved, commenting on how smart she was. She managed a 'thank you' but felt a little embarrassed about his praise.

Now, since Sinead had held him back to ask, they were the only ones at the lodge that was located a few yards from the water. The others already left so she was just sitting and waiting for her boyfriend to finish changing.

 _Does it always take him so long to get ready?_ She thought, a little amused. _I should just go ahead and get used to it I guess. He's probably worse when he's actually 'being' a celebrity._

Jonah finally exited the changing room, wearing just swim trunks, and she tried not to gawk at him. Instead she busied herself with standing and adjusting her clothes.

"You aren't swimming?" Jonah asked in a confused voice. "Why not? The water is legit here."

Holding out her pale arms for emphasis, she replied, "Because I'm a redhead. I'll burn in 2 seconds if I get out there. And putting on sunscreen is so annoying."

Jonah smiled at her lazily, his tone flirtatious. "I can help ya."

"I'm sure you can." Sinead said dryly.

She glanced out at the water. It looked so inviting, so clear. The waves leapt upon the beach, and she could barely make out the outlines of Reagan and Madison, their powerful swimming strokes taking them out even further from the rest of the group, who were just stepping in the water and splashing around. Maybe she should swim, at least for a bit.

As if reading her mind, Jonah reached for her bag and pulled out her sunscreen, then glanced up at her. "Are you swimming in that or do you have a bathing suit?" He was referring to her shorts and t-shirt, which she still had on.

"I have a bathing suit." She said reluctantly, still hesitating though, a little embarrassed about showing that much skin to Jonah. But then she reflected that he had already seen her in it back at his house before they started dating and felt silly.

She pulled her t-shirt over her head and shrugged out of her shorts, revealing a 1-piece blue bathing suit that gathered in the middle. It was simple, not showing off too much skin but enough to make her feel shy.

She turned to Jonah and saw that he was concentrating on pouring the sunscreen out into his hands.

 _When he focuses like that it's adorable._ The thought was fleeting, because he suddenly met her gaze, but only after glancing over her form appreciatively.

"Turn around." was all he said, and she did immediately, glad that her face was hidden so she could try to control her blush.

Once again he was bringing the self-conscious side out in her and she _hated_ it. She made herself think of practical things (like homework and inventing a device that she could wear to prevent a silly thing like blushing) and felt her embarrassment fade away. Then she remembered Jonah mentioning Broderick calling him that morning from the airport.

"What did your dad say on the phone?" She asked.

"Just reminding me of the plan when I get there. He wants Thursday to be a full rehearsal day, since after the first concert we will be on the move pretty fast." He paused, then added, "I wish you could go with me."

Sinead was surprised and opened her mouth, but Jonah rushed on. "I know, you have school and assignments to do. It's just that I'm gonna miss you like crazy."

Sinead's heart melted. Jonah was so sweet when he wanted to be.

"I'll miss you like crazy too", She admitted. "I don't even want to think about going back home. I know we can call and text and stuff, but it won't be the same. We've hardly had any time together with our cousins constantly around. It's like I'm just getting to know you."

Jonah, who had been rubbing her shoulders, stopped and squeezed them. "I know. At least I'll have a break when you do, and can come see you."

Sinead groaned. "But that's so far away," she turned, taking the sunscreen again from her bag and finished rubbing it on her face and arms. "3 months…"

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about it." Jonah suggested. "Let's just enjoy today and most of tomorrow together and make the most of it."

"I agree." Sinead said. But it was nice to know that he felt the same as her, that he would miss her.

They walked towards the beach, and Jonah reached over and took her hand. It was still weird to get used to but nice.

He stopped them just short of the water. "Don't ya have to wait a few minutes since you put that on?" He asked, referring to her sunscreen.

"Nope," She said proudly. "It's something I invented. I won't bore you with the details but it won't come off with the water. And it lasts two hours."

"I'm impressed. Hmmm having you as a girlfriend could be useful." He teased.

Sinead rolled her eyes at him, and a mean thought came to her as they stepped into the warm water. She pointed out at the waves, "Hey is that Hamilton? I thought he wasn't coming with us today."

Jonah shaded his eyes to look, and Sinead quickly let go of his hand and pushed him in. He had the advantage of being both taller and more muscular than her, but she had the element of surprise, and he started to fall, barely catching himself but not before his face hit the water.

He spluttered, and she quickly dove in and swam towards Amy. She and Dan had turned to see what was going on, and when Sinead reached them they were laughing and started hi-fiving her. Down the way, she could see Ned, Ted, and Ian in deeper water and felt a little safer, but when she stole a glance behind her she saw Jonah advancing.

"Oops," Sinead muttered, turning her body around and putting on an innocent face. Then she raised her voice where he could hear her and hoped silently that he wouldn't try to get revenge. "There you are! I was wondering where you went, _babe."_

He smirked at her as he got closer. "Oh, did ya miss me _darling_?"

Dan winced. "This is either going to get really mushy or will turn into an all-out war. I'm outta here."

He started swimming towards the others as Amy flashed Sinead an apologetic smile.

"I'm going to go check on Natalie." She pointed towards the beach where Natalie was sunbathing. Sinead hadn't even seen her there before. She shot Amy a pleading look but the other girl was already moving towards the beach.

Looking back at Jonah – who was now standing in front of her – she let out a meek, "Hi."

"Hi?" He questioned, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Hey, just trying to enjoy our time together." She said quickly. He laughed and reached over. Sinead thought that he was going to dunk her, but instead he started tickling her.

"Stop!" She squealed. "I'm sorry ok?"

Not only was she ticklish, but it also put her in close proximity to his bare chest. He didn't stop of course and she tried to get away from him but was laughing too hard to concentrate.

They played this game for a minute or so - Sinead finally feeling like she might be getting the upper hand - when a voice called out, "Hey Wiz!"

Jonah froze and removed his hands from her sides, spinning around to see where the voice came from. Two guys who looked about Jonah's age were waving at them from the beach (which was supposed to be private), and Sinead frowned as Jonah swore under his breath. Who were they? The guys looked friendly enough with smiles on their faces, and they started heading their way. Jonah inhaled deeply and peered at her from the corner of his eye.

"Just play along." He said under his breath, stepping a good two steps away from her. Sinead felt confused, but nodded in agreement.

As the guys came closer she noticed that one of them was younger than she initially thought, and he raked his eyes over her before smiling at Jonah.

"Yo," Jonah said weakly. "Wassup guys?"

"Nothing much, just enjoying a break before it's back to work. Who's your friend?" The younger guy asked.

Jonah smiled, but Sinead could see his jaw tighten a little. "This is Sinead, a close family friend." He said, turning to her and then looked back at the guys. "Sinead these are my homies from the dancing classes I used to take. They've joined me on tour once before."

He motioned towards the younger guy. "This is Marcus," Marcus flashed her a smile and held out his hand. Sinead took it reluctantly and shook it.

"And this," Jonah continued, referring to the older guy who had been silent, studying the scene with shrewd eyes. "Is Alan."

Alan, who looked to be of Latin descent, smiled and shook her hand as well.

"Nice to meet you." Alan said. He turned to Jonah, "Marcus and I are just here through today. Too bad, if we would have known you were here we could have gotten together for drinks or something." He smirked at him, "Plenty of ladies here to check out also. I know you would be all over that."

Sinead already decided that she didn't like him, or Marcus for that matter. Was Jonah really friends with these guys? She frowned at both of them, who were too stupid to realize that what they said in front of her was impolite. They didn't even notice her pointed glare.

She was going to say something but stole a glance at Jonah first. He looked uncomfortable at Alan's words so Sinead decided to bite back the smart remark on the tip of her tongue and help him out instead.

"Jonah was nice enough to bring some of his friends and relatives out here for a mini vacation this weekend." She explained smoothly. "We just got here, so sorry we all couldn't get together."

Alan looked at her intently, almost throwing her off. "Jonah's friend you say?" He asked, and something about his tone indicated that he was suspicious.

Sinead made herself keep calm, knowing that both of them had probably seen them playing around. But for some reason, Jonah hadn't wanted them to know that they were dating, and Sinead decided to follow his lead.

"Yes." She stared him down. It worked, and Alan's gaze lost its intensity, turning mildly curious instead.

"Well," Jonah cut in pleasantly, seeming to be over whatever he had been feeling moments earlier. "We probably should join the others." He motioned towards the direction the other were, which was on a nearby pier. "See ya dawgs around."

Sinead wanted to roll her eyes at his lingo, but refrained. The guys had no choice but to step back.

"See ya." Marcus replied to Jonah, but shot he shot Sinead another lingering smile before he turned. She didn't even bother returning it, not caring if she seemed rude or not.

Alan added, "Maybe we will see you on tour this year, your dad contacted us a few weeks ago and suggested us coming out to a show or two."

"Great," Jonah said unenthusiastically. Alan and Marcus walked off, and as soon as they disappeared from sight Sinead turned her gaze on Jonah.

"What was that about?" She demanded.

Jonah avoided her look which threw her off. Now suspicion mixed with the annoyance.

"Can we talk about this later?" He asked.

"No." She said. "You were acting weird and I want to know why."

Jonah sighed, "I met those guys a few years ago when I was going through my wild stage."

Sinead narrowed her eyes. "That's it? That's why you were acting like you didn't want to be near me just now?"

"What?" Jonah looked at her, shock in his eyes. "Sinead, don't you know what would happen if they knew we were dating?"

"Afraid that your 'rep' would be ruined?" Sinead knew that the words were irrational, but she couldn't put her finger on his reaction to the guys he called friends and it was bugging her. The words that he had said at the restaurant the prior night came flying back, _'tonight is the last night I want to be recognized'_ and all of the worries that she had felt came flying back also.

Irritation replaced the shock in Jonah's eyes. "Now you're being stupid." He said. "We really should talk about this later."

Sinead opened her mouth to retort back, but stopped as Ted appeared beside them. She hadn't even noticed him swimming up.

"Hey guys, on the other side of the pier we found an amazing place to jump off and do tricks." He said, apparently not realizing they were in the middle of a disagreement. "I know you love that stuff Sinead."

Sinead swallowed hard, thinking that getting away from Jonah right now - who had just called her stupid and who might possibly be ashamed of her - sounded like a great idea.

"Lead the way." She said shortly. Ted, still not noticing the tension turned towards Jonah.

"You coming?" He asked.

Jonah just nodded and followed the siblings. They had to leave the water and get up on the beach to get to the pier.

Sinead could see the rest of the cousins, even Natalie, either sitting on the edge of it or jumping off the side into the water. She shaded her eyes and looked doubtfully at the long, rickety boards leading to the pier, which looked as if they had seen better days. "We have to walk on that?" She asked.

Ted laughed. "It's not as bad as it looks, I'll help you." He promised, taking her elbow.

Jonah trailed behind them silently and Sinead tried not to feel hurt at what had happened just now. Why had he stepped away from her like that and called her a "family friend'? It didn't make sense. Even him slipping back into his gangster lingo was strange. Was it because of her scars - which were really obvious on her arm? Or because she wasn't as pretty as the girls he used to date?

 _Plenty of ladies here to check out also. I know you would be all over that._ Alan's words echoed in her head.

But she shook these thoughts away as they approached the others, not wanting them to see her confusion.

"Jonah, Sinead, you gotta check this out!" Reagan exclaimed. She and Madison had returned, and Madison was now flipping off of the pier. It looked like fun, but Sinead's attention was on the other side of the pier, which had a board going out even further over the water.

"What about over there?" She asked, making her way to the edge.

Reagan frowned. "We could see," She said doubtfully. "There are more rocks over there, which is why we are on the other side."

Sinead peered down. "I don't see any rocks right here." She said, stretching her arms, preparing to dive in.

Jonah came over and stood beside her, looking down at the water too. "I don't think that's a good idea Sinead."

Dan surprisingly agreed. "I saw that too and was going to jump but Natalie talked me out of it. I'm about to walk back down and swim to see if it's safe."

Dan's warning Sinead didn't mind, but for some reason Jonah's irked her. "I'm not blind." She said firmly, but tried to keep her tone mellow. "I'm going."

Jonah's hand caught her wrist. "I don't think so." He stated.

Sinead felt anger creep in and it came out in her voice. "Oh, now you want to play the concerned boyfriend?" She spat.

She heard a few whistles and an "oh snap" from Nellie, but ignored them.

Jonah was looking at her calmly. "I am concerned; I don't want you to get hurt. And I'll explain what happened back there _later_ ," He emphasized the last word, inclining his head towards the curious gazes of their relatives.

"Fine," Sinead relented, but shook off his grip and stepped away from him. Now it was Jonah's turn to look hurt. She ignored him though and walked over to where Amy was sitting and eased herself down beside her.

"Have you tried jumping off?" She asked, speaking of the side of the pier that was deemed safe for such antics.

"No." Amy shook her head with a smile. "I'm not brave enough to do that. But it's fun watching everyone else have a great time."

Amy leaned closer to Sinead, and said in a low voice that only the two girls could hear. "I saw you and Jonah down there. It looked like you both were having fun too."

Sinead felt a lump in her throat. "We were," She agreed. "Well, before those guys came over anyways."

"I saw that too. Who were they?" Amy inquired.

Sinead shrugged. "They said they knew Jonah from some dance classes, but Jonah acted super weird around them, like he didn't even know me and didn't want to be there."

Amy frowned. "Did he say why? That doesn't seem like him. Jonah's friendly with everyone."

"No." She replied, avoiding Amy's eyes. "He said he would explain later."

There was a short pause, and Sinead sighed. "You think I was too hard on him, don't you?"

Amy bit her lip. "Well…"

"I know. I should let him explain, it's just that the guys said something about Jonah's past with random girls. There's so much I don't know about him Amy, and what one of them said made me uneasy. Do you know how many gorgeous girls he's probably been with?" She asked, feeling upset all over again.

"Sinead," Amy said gently, but firmly. " _You_ are gorgeous, and smart and talented too. Jonah is lucky to be with you, and didn't you tell me last night how wonderful he is treating you? There's probably a reason behind his actions."

Sinead nodded miserably and repeated. "I know."

Amy went on. "I know that it's going to be hard, dating someone so famous and someone who girls throw themselves on, but you should probably hear him out and then decide what to think or do. And you have to believe in yourself too."

Sinead nodded again, chancing a glance at Jonah. He was standing by himself, looking upset and unapproachable. "Do you think I should go talk to him now?" She asked warily.

"It probably would be best." Amy sounded sympathetic, but confident. "Go on, you will feel better once you do."

Sinead nervously got up and walked over towards him, trying to feel out his mood as she did. Jonah watched her, but his expression didn't change. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Hey, can we talk?" She asked, feeling much like she did last week when she approached him about her feelings for him. He nodded, and moved them back towards the front of the pier, helping her over the loose boards.

 _At least he helped me, that's a good sign right?_

But when he let go of her hand once they reached the edge of the beach and turned to face her, he was still wearing the same look.

"What." He said, making it sound like a statement instead of a question.

Sinead closed her eyes, thinking of what to say. She decided to start with an apology.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, keeping her eyes closed. "I was so mean to you, and you didn't deserve it." Her breath caught. "It's just, I was hurt at the way you acted. And then what Alan said about you and girls in your past upset me, and-"

She opened her eyes when she felt his fingers under her chin. His gaze had softened, his chocolate eyes staring into her green ones, and she caught her breath again. Her brain shut off so she stopped talking and helplessly stared back at him.

"I wasn't always the best guy." He said slowly, "So yeah, there have been girls I have messed around with. But I told ya before that you're the first one I've had feelings for. And as far as telling those guys we're dating…"

He sighed, and then said flatly. "Like I said that day in the studio, not everyone in Hollywood who claims to be your friend, is. There are people that like you for your fame and the money you have and then will turn their back on you in a heartbeat. I was afraid that they would sell us out to the 'razzi' and then the media would be all over us." He frowned, still holding her chin and looking into her eyes. "Trust me, that's the last thing you want. I'm definitely not afraid of you 'ruining my rep'," Sinead felt a pang of guilt as he quoted her hastily spoken words from earlier,

"But," He went on, "They would be all over you, even when you went back home. We haven't discussed revealing our relationship to the press, but I figured you would want time to get used to it. I trust our cousins, although we probably need to let 'em know not to say anything just in case, but I don't really trust anyone else."

His speech calmed her, and now she could understand his earlier actions. She let out a breath, feeling foolish.

"I'm sorry," She repeated softly. "I should have waited for an explanation instead of jumping to conclusions. I told you I'm rash."

Jonah grinned at her. "Yeah." He agreed, "But I'm sorry too for not explaining it then and wanting to put it off. I forgot how you need to know everything upfront and almost right away. I'll do better too."

They quietly contemplated this for a moment, having learned another thing about each other that both had to consider. Jonah finally dropped her chin and took a half-step back. "Well," He observed, humor back into his expression. "We're getting good as resolving our conflicts at least."

"Yes, and now I feel weird around everyone after snapping at you." She sighed. "Amy told me I was being too hard on you. Well, she said something of the sort."

Jonah still looked amused. "You're fine babe. We could go back and join them if ya want, I'm sure they won't say anything."

They both stopped and thought about what he said. Sinead shook her head.

"They definitely would." She disagreed. "Why don't we just walk and talk instead?" Or go find that smoothie place Ian was talking about earlier?"

He agreed, so they went and got their bags, threw on their clothes over their swimsuits, and headed to find the place that Ian had declared, 'had the best smoothies on the planet'. They ended up not being able to find the smoothie place, but a small storefront that made banana shakes instead.

As they sat down to eat them, Jonah opened up more to Sinead about his past, explaining that his arrogance had taken him on some bad paths.

"I told you before that I drank a lot but it was actually pretty bad. I woke up a lot not even knowing all I had done the night before, or there might be a random girl in the room. That's what Alan was talking about." He looked at her, regret in his eyes. "I wish it were different, I really do. But I try to avoid alcohol for the most part and also stay away from people like Alan and Marcus who aren't the best influences."

Sinead, surprised at his words and his honesty, was quiet for a minute. Jonah took this time to change the subject. "I wanna know more about you. Like about the rest of your family, your parents." He asked. "You and your brothers never say anything about 'em."

"There's really not much to say." Sinead replied. "They told us about the clue hunt when we were young but they weren't really for it. That's why we got grounded when we were done losing it."

Then she added with a grimace, "They are just normal parents who love us, but don't hesitate to let us know when they don't like what we do."

Jonah smirked. "That sounds familiar."

At her glare he added, "Not that it's a bad thing. You speak your mind and that's refreshing to me. Do you know how many fake people I'm constantly around? It's hard to know who to trust."

Sinead looked at him sympathetically. "I would hate that. My brothers and I, along with our parents, have a pretty honest relationship. But I'm introverted too, which makes it weird. I am honest with my thoughts and opinions, but closed with my emotions sometimes. It makes for a bit of confusion, since my brothers aren't like that at all."

Jonah took this in with a "hmm", which Sinead didn't know how to take. She continued though, brushing it off. "But enough about my parents, I want to know what your dad thinks about us dating, he hasn't really said anything directly."

"Does it matter what anyone else thinks?" Jonah asked.

"He's your manager though, so doesn't that make a difference?"

Her boyfriend laughed, "My dad is relieved that I found someone that won't use me for my money. Trust me, he's happy that I'm happy. Plus I can tell that he likes you." He winked at her. "Think of all of the hits I'm gonna write now."

Sinead laughed, "You flatter me." Was all she said, but her heart started beating a little faster at his words. Her sarcasm tended to come out stronger when too much attention was placed on her, so she bit her tongue. She had been doing a lot of that lately.

"We actually talked about the media a little before he left." Jonah added, "He has some ideas to help us stay under the radar."

"Really?" Sinead said, feeling herself warm up to Broderick even more than she already had the past few days.

They talked some more about their families then. Sinead finally opened up a little about her brothers and how much agony they went through during and after the clue hunt. She managed to keep the topic off of herself, but Jonah brought it up anyways.

"What about you?" He asked her. "Does it not hurt anymore where your scars are?"

Sinead glanced down at her arm, thinking about the ones all over her side too, the ones that were hidden. She wasn't sure when she would be ready to tell him about those, and tried not to think about it.

"No." She said. "I forget that I have them most of the time, but sometimes I look at them and remember."

Her voice had gone soft, then she laughed lightly at herself.

"I didn't mean to go all gloomy. I'm fine now; they rarely even bother me anymore."

She looked up as she said this but Jonah was looking at her arm.

"I'm glad they still don't hurt. And I'm glad that you're talking about this with me." He brought his eyes up to her face. "I don't want you to feel insecure about them, or to think they bother me or somethin' like that."

Smiling at him tentatively, she gave him as honest of an answer as she could. "I try not to think things like that."

"Don't, please." He replied firmly, and she didn't know what else to say.

Looking out over the beach again, she noticed with a start that the sun was beginning to sink in the sky.

"Wow I hadn't realized how long we've been talking."

Jonah stood, a reluctant look on his face. "Yeah I guess we should go back. Wanna walk back to where we were and then get a taxi from there?"

"Sure." She shot him a smile and then, feeling bold, reached for his hand.

He looked surprised but happy, making her really glad that she had done it.

 _And now that the air is cleared up between us it feels extra nice._

* * *

 **Part two….NEXT**


	24. Chapter 21 Pt 2

**SMILES for Jonah's POV! Originally this was in Sinead's but I decided to write it in Jonah's and ended up liking it better.**

 **Oh and I named this 'chapter 21 - part two - cause #1 I can't have a story with uneven chapters and there's only one left (lol pet peeve of mine ) AND #2 it technically is still chapter 21 and is just split up to be easier on my readers ;)**

* * *

 _Jonah's POV_

Jonah snuck another look at Sinead as they walked back to the villa. Her face was serene and a small smile played on her lips. Her extremely pretty, kissable-looking lips.

 _She's your girlfriend. Just reach over and kiss her._

He frowned and looked back over the water, where the sun was lowering even further. It was cooling down and getting breezy and the beautiful colors streaking across the sky, as well as the sounds from the ocean should have sent a peaceful feeling through him. But he couldn't feel that way when his thoughts were a mess.

Sinead didn't seem that comfortable with affection, and at first it had thrown him. He hadn't known whether to take it personally or not. But she obviously liked him enough to date him and seemed to enjoy physical contact at times. Like right now her hand was relaxed - unlike the last time he had held it.

 _I wonder if she's been hurt before. Like in a past relationship. If so, whatever guy is a douchebag._

With this thought in mind, he pondered just asking if he could kiss her. Then maybe if something like that _was_ the reason she would tell him and he could stop being so careful around her. Not that he would push her into anything she wasn't ready for, but at least he wouldn't have to worry about her breaking up with him over something as simple as a kiss. It might sound lame to some, but there was no way Jonah was going to mess this up.

"Hey." He made sure his voice was soft, and waited until she turned to look at him.

Swallowing, he halted them and then asked, "Can I kiss you?"

As he said the words he brushed her hair back from her face and looked deep into her eyes, trying to gauge her reaction.

He was thrilled by her response. Surprise filled her eyes at first as they met his, but then her smile turned into a grin and a small blush formed on her cheeks.

"Um, yeah." She said softly, almost too soft for him to hear.

Slowly, so he wouldn't freak her out or anything, he reached down and brushed his lips against hers. He could tell that she was a little nervous so he kept it light, caressing her mouth with his for only a few seconds before pulling back.

Even though the kiss was pretty low-key, it had felt nice and sent a warm rush through him. Looking down at her as her eyes flickered open, he felt even more pleased at the way her face was now lit up.

Not wanting awkwardness to settle in - at least on her part, _he_ felt fine - he said in a teasing tone, "I would kiss ya again but you're way too tempting right now in those damp clothes."

She laughed and swatted at him, but it didn't faze him as he added, "Not that I would mind but your brothers would probably come after me."

"Chicken." Her voice held both a teasing and an embarrassed note and he just grinned in reply.

They made it back to the villa shortly after that. When they entered they found everyone else already back, sitting around the fireplace and playing games in the front living room.

"Well look who finally showed up." Natalie cooed, "Ned was just about to call for a search party."

Ned glared at Natalie, but didn't deny it. Jonah was about to open his mouth to tell Sinead 'I told you so' but Sinead was already turning to Ned with a frown.

"We were just talking." She stated with an eye roll.

Her brother just shot her a 'yeah right' look in return, and Jonah decided to change the subject. "So what are you guys playing? And is that pizza over there?"

"Yep. There's hardly any left though." Madison stated. "You guys were gone for quite a while."

"Dan, did you eat all of it?" Sinead asked with a frown as she peered into the boxed, evading Madison's curious eyes.

Jonah wanted to laugh but didn't, instead going over to check out the game since no one answered his other question.

"Wow Dan, you got roped into playing another board game?" He teased, pretending not to see Natalie's glare.

The boy shrugged, unfazed. "Hey it's World of Warcraft Monopoly. So it's totally cool and stuff."

Jonah opened his mouth but Ian cut in. "Jonah, weren't you the one 'roped' into playing Cranium with Sinead just a few days ago?"

He was about to answer when he felt a soft touch on his shoulder. Turning, he saw that it was Sinead handing him a plate of pizza. "Oh, thanks babe." He said, smiling at her.

She just darted her eyes away and muttered, "No problem."

Jonah turned back to Ian, "Hey I definitely wasn't forcing myself to play that game."

Everyone laughed and shook their heads at them but without further commentary.

Sinead took a seat on the floor but looked up at him suddenly. "Speaking of Cranium, I have a few questions to ask you about all that."

He put his best innocent face on and nodded. "Ask away."

"So was your goal the entire game to throw me off? It seemed like every time I turned around you were distracting me! You even made me mess up that first multiple-choice question with the way you were _right_ there."

Jonah was a little startled at how annoyed she looked and sounded, and wasn't sure what to say at first.

" _That's_ why you missed that question?" Ted butted in, saving him for the moment. "He was just behind you a little."

"A little?" Sinead frowned at her brother. "If he would have been a millimeter closer he would have been touching me."

"Let's just say that I was enjoying your presence more than the game itself." Jonah interjected, finding his voice.

Sinead's expression froze but he kept talking, "I mean, it's cool that we won and everything but I really didn't care about that."

"So you admit it? You were just trying to throw me off?"

 _Did she not listen to anything I just said?_ He thought, slightly annoyed but amazed too.

"Baby, I was trying to find excuses to touch you. That was my goal, not throwing you off."

As soon as he said it, he realized how overly-honest voicing that was, especially in front of everyone. "Uh…"

Sinead suddenly stood up. "I'm just going to go change. I'll be back."

Jonah wasn't sure since she kept her face turned but he thought she might be blushing.

"I'm sorry I brought it up." Ian muttered as soon as Sinead had disappeared up the stairs. The British boy was making a face, looking a little awkward.

It was Amy who spoke up next, laughing lightly. "Well, Sinead is a little oblivious to stuff like that."

Ned grinned at Amy, "Isn't she though?"

It quieted down after that, the attention going back to the Monopoly game. When Sinead returned a few minutes later and took the same seat she had before no one even said anything, much to Jonah's relief.

He kept glancing over at her from where he was standing, wanting to go over and sit by her. She looked really cute and warm in her flannel shirt but he wasn't sure of her mood, especially after his comment. So he stayed where he was and just enjoyed watching her.

Once the game ended Nellie suggested hot chocolate and cookies, so everyone made their way to the kitchen. Jonah trailed the group, so he was the last one in. Unfortunately, both seats by his girlfriend were occupied.

"Hey, I wanted to sit by Sinead." He protested, surveying the room with a frown.

Nellie laughed, "Sorry Jonah. Maybe you can sweet talk someone into moving?"

Considering it, an idea came to him. At first his immediate thought was, _Sinead would freak out, it's a no go._

But then the second thought won out, _Nah she prob won't mind. And if she does I'm sure she'll tell me._

Not saying anything, he came up beside her. She wasn't paying any attention to him until he picked her up, slid into her chair, and sat her back down on his lap. Then her eyes darted to his and he saw a flicker of uncertainty on her face. But instead of commenting she just settled back against him.

He resisted the urge to grin triumphantly _and_ also the urge to kiss her. Instead, he lightly pressed his lips against her hair brushing against her neck and kept quiet, listening to the conversation around him. Sinead didn't say anything either until the conversation trailed off.

"Hey Jonah and I need to talk to you guys about something."

All eyes turned to her, and Jonah heard her clear her throat. "Um, so we were talking about the paparazzi earlier…"

Sinead trailed and then looked at him as if she wanted him to explain.

Jonah gave her a quick smile and took over. "Ok, we know we can trust you all not to say anything to anyone about us dating, but want to make sure that you don't accidently let anything slip. We don't want the media to find out about us, at least not for now."

"Oh yeah, that probably wouldn't be good." Nellie agreed.

"No, especially with my tour starting and Sinead starting a new semester of school. We're gonna be busy enough without fighting the press." Jonah stated, tightening his grip around Sinead. "And I especially don't want Sinead to have to go through that. The paparazzi can be brutal."

He winced as he thought of the possible things they could say or do. Sometimes even he had a difficult time shutting their crap out, and if Sinead ever got tired of it…

"Dan and I definitely understand." Natalie spoke up. "Although we aren't as popular as you-" she let out a sniff -"the media hounds us sometimes when we go out. It's awful."

The brunette exchanged a glance with Dan, who nodded empathetically. "Yeah, it really sucks. It would be so much worse though for you guys."

"We'll be really careful not to say anything." Madison said, shooting a smile in Jonah and Sinead's direction.

Everyone else agreed, but it was Hamilton who said it best. "We think it's great that you two are finally together." He said, "And it's no one's business but yours and Sinead's."

Jonah was about to thank them when he caught sight of Ned and Ted throwing Hamilton a frown.

Ted was the one who spoke though, "Um, and her brothers. We like Jonah, but we have to look after Sinead with the way that he looks at her and everything."

Feeling a blush on his cheeks - something rare for him - Jonah looked at Sinead to see that she was blushing too. But she was also glaring at her brothers.

"Guys." She gritted out. "I'm old enough to take care of myself. And Jonah is my _boyfriend_."

The two only exchanged a look, and Jonah wasn't sure if he should say anything but Amy thankfully saved the day.

"So what are the plans tomorrow?" She asked. "Is everyone on their own like today or is there a plan?"

Nellie looked at Jonah. "What did your dad say?"

"A plane will come get me around 4."

 _And I wish it wasn't. I wish I could stay here until Saturday like everyone else._

It was a strange thought for him to have. He _loved_ touring and it had never bothered him to leave and go on one. He had gotten way more attached to everyone than he thought he would. Sinead was a given of course but also he felt pretty close to his other cousins. It was nice to be able to let down his guard and be himself without worrying about them selling him out.

Nellie nodded, "Well, everyone's already been shopping, swimming, hiking, and snorkeling. I also know that one of you went shark diving, _without_ me." She eyed Hamilton. "But most of you mentioned to me that you wanted to do the dolphin and whale tour, only there were no tickets left."

She then produced a handful of paper. "Tada!" She announced triumphantly. "12 tickets, so we all could go. Or I could sell them if you guys want to go off on your own. It's up to you."

As conversation went around the room, Jonah shifted Sinead a little so he could look at her. "What do you wanna do? We could still hang out by ourselves."

 _Please say yes. I love my other cousins, but…_

"That's what I would rather do, unless you want to hang out with the group, it being your last day." She added.

Hoping that he didn't look _too_ excited about the idea of being alone with her, he agreed. "We could go get breakfast," he suggested, "and then just do whatever. I just hafta be back by three, my dad's orders. I got to have time to get the airfield and he wants to make sure that I don't run late."

"Ok, so is meeting at 7:00 fine? I know we are tired but any later and we will run out of time together."

"Seven is perfect." He said, feeling pleased over her words.

Then, shooting her a smile that he was sure was really sappy, he once again tightened his grip around her.

She returned his smile with a grin and leaned in by his ear. "Want me to go tell Nellie?"

"I don't want you to get up." He said truthfully.

He was enjoying her being close way too much. Sinead made a face at him but turned her head towards Nellie and raised her voice. "Hey Jonah and I are going off on our own tomorrow."

"I figured that's how the rest of us would rate." Nellie answered, but her face showed that she was joking.

"Whatever." His girlfriend rolled her eyes playfully. "It's not like I won't have the next few days to hang out with you all."

Then she bit her lip and looked away, her face going blank. Jonah was a little taken aback, wondering if the thought of him leaving was bothering her that much. I mean, they _were_ dating and all, but only recently and Sinead was a lot different than the other girls he had dated. More independent, more self-reliant. So he didn't say anything, and after a few seconds she slid off his lap.

Jonah wondered if he should say something but she turned to him with a small smile. "Want more hot chocolate while I'm up?"

"No thanks." He responded at the same time Ned said, "I do!"

Sinead's expression turned annoyed but she graciously offered to get everyone else more if they wanted some. Jonah wanted to laugh at the put-out look on her face and was secretly happy that he obviously rated higher than everyone else, like Nellie had just teased her about.

Finally, they all settled back in the den where Hamilton somehow was challenged to a chess game by Amy, which somehow turned into a huge betting pool with everyone actually putting real money down. Jonah normally didn't bet but he had to get in on this one. Hamilton against Amy, in chess? Once he cast in his bet he went and found Sinead, sitting by her on the couch.

It thrilled him when she rested her head on his shoulder, and he couldn't help but pull her up flush against him, loving the feeling of her body right next to his. He withstood the urge to kiss her in front of everyone and just concentrated on enjoying her presence.

 _I don't know if I've ever been this content before._ He thought briefly as breathed in the scent of Sinead's hair - which he had his lips up against again - and watched his cousins laughing around him. _This definitely has been one of the best months of my entire life._

* * *

 **ONLY ONE CHAPTER LEFT**

 **I have mixed emotions here…on one hand I'm :D to be finishing my first fic (and a long one at that) on the other hand I'm :'( that it's almost over...**


	25. Chapter 22

**So I could have posted this Friday buuuut this is the last chapter so I couldn't bring myself to do it *sigh* but here it is! The final chapter to my first fan-fic :D**

* * *

After the chess game the prior night, Sinead and Jonah had sat down with the Kabras to discuss his next step with the Janus situation.

It actually ended up being a very long but also very good talk. Sinead felt so much better knowing that there was a good chance that Jonah could retain his Janus status, and knew that he did too. The relief had been evident on his face.

Now, she was patiently waiting in the entryway of the villa while the others were telling Jonah goodbye. They were about to head on their own excursion and wouldn't return until that evening - and by then Jonah would be well on his way to Europe.

 _Don't think about that now_. Sinead lectured herself sternly, staring blankly at the ceramic wall planter directly in her line of vision. There would be plenty of time in the next few weeks to be sad, today she needed to enjoy the time she did have with him.

Thirty minutes later, they had parted ways with everyone else and were sitting outside a beachfront restaurant eating their food. Jonah kept looking around cautiously, but with his sunglasses on and how early in the morning it was, the few people out there didn't seem to notice the young couple.

"So," Sinead fiddled with her fork, staring down at her eggs. "I've been thinking..."

"Uh-oh," Jonah teased, but she thought she picked up on some nervousness in his voice. "You aren't breaking up with me or anything right?"

She stared up at him. "Of course not."

"Ok," He said, seeming to relax in his chair. "What's up?"

"It's just something that we've been avoiding." She sighed, "I don't really want to talk about it, but how are we going to make this work being so far apart?"

He started to talk, but she cut him off. "It's not just the distance. You are going to be so busy and with the way I take my classes I will be busy too. Sometimes I hardly even speak to anyone for weeks if I'm working on a difficult assignment."

"I know it won't be easy." Jonah admitted. "But we are both gonna have to sacrifice and compromise to make this work. I'm not saying that there won't be times that you gotta get a project in and I won't have multiple tour stops within days, but we will just have to try."

"We can at least text every day I guess." Sinead pondered his words. _Compromise. Sacrifice._

She realized that she was willing to do it. Normally she pushed people away to reach her goals and figured they would understand, but with him it was different. She _wanted_ to make this relationship work.

"Video calls, phone calls, visits on breaks," he added. "Why don't we just take it a step at a time? Worrying about it is just going to frustrate you."

She bit her lip. "You're right."

The waiter came with their check, and Jonah quickly threw some money on the table.

"Come on, I gotta idea of something we could do. Where we will be alone." He reached for her hand.

Sinead guessed that the subject was closed, and that the other thing on her mind would have to be postponed.

 _I have to talk to him about it sometime today though._

* * *

Jonah's idea had been to rent a sailboat, and Sinead loved it. He even stopped and asked her if she had sunscreen, something Sinead hadn't even thought of.

Currently they were standing on one side of the boat and looking out over the water. It was still relatively calm, being early in the day, and everything was so tranquil.

She breathed in the crisp air, knowing that it wouldn't last long, and glanced over at Jonah.

"I need to talk to you about one more thing." She said, trying to sound confident, unlike how she felt.

"Ok." He said, "Wanna sit?"

She agreed and went ahead and sat down cross-legged, in between the edge of the boat and the middle partition.

"So what's up?" He said easily, settling in behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, hugging her to him.

She looked down, putting her hands on his arms. "This."

There was confusion in his voice. "What? Our relationship?"

"No." She bit her lip, thinking of how to say it, then decided to just go for it like normal. "Touching. Kissing. Protocol."

He was quiet, and then he moved away from her and turned her around to face him. He wasn't touching her anymore, and he looked bewildered.

"Not that I mind the touching or kissing." She said quickly, then groaned. "This is so awkward!"

"Explain what ya mean by protocol first." He said.

"I've only dated three guys." She admitted, trying not to feel pathetic. "The first one I dumped on the first date - that was Clinton, the one I mentioned at the dance studio. Then there was Patrick. He told me that I sucked at relationships after one week of being with him. Then there was Jayden, who told also told me that I was horrible, but that was probably because I wouldn't have sex with him after our second date."

During her rant realization started to fall on Jonah's face. But he didn't say anything, letting her talk.

"So all of that being said, I apparently suck at dating. I've only kissed a few guys casually, but there's never been any real intimacy." She closed her eyes for the next part, feeling a bit unnerved. "I've never had sex. I've never even made out with anyone, and you have all of this experience and-"

She would have gone on, but she felt his hands on her cheeks, cupping her face.

"Look at me." He said, and the tone of his voice made her mouth dry and her throat feel like it was closed up, rendering her speechless.

Sinead cautiously opened her eyes, but didn't want to. She felt like an idiot.

His eyes were serious but gentle, and when he spoke her anxiety fled. "I don't care about your inexperience. What you said about only dating three guys surprised me a little, but only because you're so beautiful and such a good kisser." She flushed, and he grinned, then turned serious again. "Those guys sound like idiots. They just said all of that because they weren't man enough to treat ya right. Don't you think I've noticed you're a little scared of stuff like that?"

She stared at him, but he was still talking.

"I can tell you're hesitant when I touch you sometimes like you're not sure how to respond. That's why I've been going so slow; I don't wanna make you uncomfortable."

"Wait," She was still stuck on his question. "You know that I've been freaking out? Why didn't you say anything?"

Jonah shrugged, scooting up and pulling her back around where they were sitting side-by-side. He looked out over the waves, which were starting to lap up around the boat.

"We have time." He said. "Plus, I've moved really fast with girls before, but for all of the wrong reasons. You I actually wanna get to know better, and I know that it took a lot for you to take the steps you have with me. I don't take that trust lightly."

Her heart was drumming in her ribcage at all of the stuff he was saying, and she tried to get a grip.

"It's not that I don't want to kiss you or anything else." She whispered, moving closer and leaning her head on his shoulder, feeling the need to explain. "I'm just scared I won't do the right thing or something."

She felt him shift to reach his arm around her back. "I don't think that you can do the _wrong_ thing." He replied, his voice amused. "You're overthinking. If you wanna touch or kiss me, I promise you I won't have a problem with it."

"And making out? What if I do something stupid?" She challenged.

"I'll help you." His tone sounded warm, suggestive even.

Sinead swallowed, then asked quietly, "Now?"

He turned her around again to face him, but this time his hands were on her shoulders. He studied her for a minute before his eyes fell to her lips.

"Gladly." He said, then caught them with his.

Sinead closed her eyes reflexively, willing herself to relax. Unlike the kiss yesterday which was quick and sweet, this one was unrushed, his lips lingering on hers, then she felt his tongue coaxing her mouth open.

She almost closed up, but then remembered his words, ' _I don't take your trust lightly_ ' and she realized that she did trust Jonah, at least with this part after all he had just said to her. And she wasn't sure how to tell him, so she decided to show him, relaxing her body and succumbing to the feeling that he was stirring in her.

It didn't take long for it to register that her boyfriend was a really good kisser, _and_ teacher. Her confidence grew and she started getting braver, reaching one hand up to touch his earring while tentatively responding to his kisses.

Instead of things getting more intense though, he slowed, then finally pulled back.

She dropped her hand and opened her mouth to ask if something was wrong, but his hands were still on her shoulders and his head was moving again, this time to place soft kisses on her neck.

"Is this ok?" He stopped to ask, and Sinead could only breathe out a "yeah," not able to think of anything else but him and what he was doing.

He moved up to her earlobe and lingered there, almost nuzzling her. It felt good, but he pulled back again, smiling at her softly.

"See." He said, his breathing a little off. "You aren't the problem."

"Or you're just a really good teacher." Her brain was still fuzzy, having not expected those feelings to wash over her. But she should have known better. It was Jonah, and when it came to him she always surprised herself.

"So..." She trailed after a few moments of silence. "I did ok? I wasn't sure how much, um, _tongue_ to use or what to do with my other hand..."

He stared at her. "You were thinking that much while we were kissing?"

"No, just now." She admitted. "While you were kissing me I could barely think of anything at all."

"Good." He said, and Sinead suspected that he was holding back a smirk. Before she could call him out on it though he added, "You're not supposed to analyze while we're doing stuff like that. That's rule number one."

When he didn't say anything else she asked hesitantly, "Are there other rules?"

He gave her an exasperated look. "No."

She frowned in return. "Just checking."

They sat there for a few seconds; Sinead wasn't sure what to say and was still attempting to process what had just happened when Jonah commented offhandedly, "You smell really good."

She eyed him, but he looked serious.

"Uh, thanks." She muttered, trying not to feel awkward.

His serious look faded and he grinned at her, and much to her relief changed the subject.

"What else do you wanna do?" He asked. "Besides this and lunch, I hadn't thought of anything else."

Sinead frowned. "We could just walk around. Unless you think you might get recognized."

A thought came to her. "So how is it that no one's recognized you? I know in Santa Monica some fans spotted you but I haven't seen the media at all like I thought I would."

He shrugged. "Around the Beverly Hills area no one really cares about stuff like that. And here is more of a couple's get-away I guess. It's nice though."

At her glance, he added with a grin, "Not that I mind the attention. But I need a break every once in a while. Once my tour starts it will be non-stop since they will know where I am constantly."

Sinead grimaced. "I hope I don't have to deal with the media that much. I hate crowds."

"They probably would be scared away if they tried to mess with you." She heard the humor in his voice and smiled a little too.

"True." Her temper was pretty bad, especially if she got fed-up with something. She was sure that she could handle the paparazzi but still wasn't looking forward to it.

They spent another hour on the boat before heading to the shore for lunch. Sinead wanted pizza, so they found a place and ordered one, then took it to an outside table to eat.

"See, everyone is wrapped up in their own conversations." Jonah pointed out, "I'm still wearing my sunglasses though, just in case."

"You think that will help?" Sinead said doubtfully. "You wear them a lot in your music videos and interviews and stuff."

He looked at her quickly, and she realized what she had just revealed.

"I thought you didn't know a lot of my music?" He asked.

"Well, I looked some of it up." She mumbled. "I was just curious, especially after seeing your Grammy performance."

Jonah looked like he was going to say more, but a voice cut in their conversation.

"Hey guys!"

They looked up to see Dan and Natalie standing in front of their table, holding trays with their own pizza on it.

"Oh, hi." Sinead responded, a little caught off-guard to see them. "I thought you were with the others."

"No." Natalie said, smiling lightly. "We wanted alone time too."

The British girl looked at both of them sitting there, adding, "We'll leave you alone if you want, we just wanted to say hello."

Jonah looked at Sinead, questioning with his eyes what she wanted. She nodded at him so he said, "You guys can join us, no prob. We haven't decided what we're gonna do after this or anything."

"Cool." Dan said, flopping down in the chair next to Jonah. "We think we might go play some arcade games. They have some really cool stuff down here."

 _Arcade games?_ Sinead thought, stealing a look at Natalie. But the girl looked relaxed and didn't turn up her nose at Dan's words like she expected her to.

"You play arcade games?" Sinead couldn't help but ask her.

Natalie smiled. "It's not my favorite thing to do," She admitted, "But it can be fun, particularly when I beat Dan."

"I see." Sinead glanced across the table, but Jonah and Dan were already discussing the games.

She lowered her voice, "So you do it for Dan? Because he likes stuff like that?"

Natalie shrugged. "I guess. I enjoy spending time with him, so we compromise. We already shopped this morning, so now we're doing what he likes."

"Oh." Sinead looked over at Jonah, wondering what he liked to do. She knew music of course, but they hadn't talked about leisure activities.

He caught her gaze and threw her a wink before turning back to Dan.

Sinead looked down at her pizza, wondering if she should tell Jonah they could do whatever he wanted after this. She hadn't really thought of it before, but he had planned everything so far with the focus on her, even though they had only done a couple of things.

"You guys can come with us, if you want." She heard Dan say to Jonah when she tuned back in. "That's cool that your score was that high. Why don't you have that game in your house?"

"I dunno." Jonah shrugged. He looked over at Sinead though and asked, "What do you wanna do?"

"Whatever you want." She said quickly. "We can go with them."

Arcade games wouldn't have been her first choice, but his eyes lit up at her answer. It was crazy how that simple reaction from him shot a jolt of pleasure through her.

 _Maybe being a good girlfriend won't be as hard as I think it will be._ She mused.

They finished eating and walked down to the pier, where there were a lot more people around. Jonah kept his head down, and also sidled up to her at one point, whispering, "Hey it's probably a good idea to keep our distance, just in case a camera is lurking. I don't know in this crowd."

She agreed, cautiously glancing around as well but relaxed when it looked like everyone was too busy eating and playing games to notice them.

The afternoon actually ended up being a lot of fun. She was comfortable around Dan of course since she lived with him, but he still had all of them rolling. At times Sinead felt like she couldn't even breathe from laughing so hard.

She found that she enjoyed spending time with Natalie too. The British girl seemed relaxed the entire time, and didn't seem as uppity as she normally was. And she and Dan were cute, getting into little arguments over stupid things.

At one point, Sinead tried to intervene but Dan cut her off, saying that she had no room to talk with the fights she and Jonah still got into.

"We haven't argued all morning!" Sinead shot back.

Natalie rolled her eyes, "And that's a record or something?" She responded, turning back to win the argument with Dan, which Sinead realized, Natalie did a _lot._

Sinead just sighed and exchanged a look with Jonah. She supposed that they still did argue, but it was different now. No malice was involved, and so far they had worked their differences out instead of letting them build.

She hadn't realized how much time had passed until Jonah said something.

"I have to be back to the villa in an hour to leave for my flight." He sounded reluctant, but turned to Natalie, giving her a light hug, then exchanged a fist bump with Dan.

Sinead just smiled at the two, knowing that she would see them later, and she and Jonah headed back, still not touching or saying anything.

When they got out at the villa though, she let out a sigh. "I don't want to talk about it." She said, knowing that he would catch on to what she meant.

"Ok." He said, "Let me go make sure everything is ready and then we'll hang for a bit and talk about something else."

So he did, returning downstairs with his suitcases within minutes. She watched him place them by the front door, then he took her hand and led her to a couch in the back room.

"So," he said, bringing up the subject they had been discussing before Dan and Natalie had interrupted them, "Which songs did ya look up?"

"Songs?" She asked, even though she knew what he was referring to.

"My songs." He repeated, "What did you think?"

She bit her lip, deciding to be honest. "They were good. You know what you're doing. It's still not really my favorite genre though."

Her voice sounded apologetic, even to her own ears, but he put in, "That's ok. I know you like rock and stuff. I'm not really into technology either."

"I guess that's a good way to look at it." Sinead said, "But I'm still proud of you, and _if_ I danced, I would definitely 'get down' to your songs."

She had used her fingers to draw imaginary quotation marks when she said this, and he laughed.

"Hey, I'll take it." He said in a warm tone. "I'm proud of you too ya know."

"I know." She said, shifting off the middle cushion and leaning back against the right side of the couch, causing him to frown at her.

"Wrong end." He stated as he pulled her over against him, in the same position but on his side.

She laughed but felt a little nervous up against him like this, where she could feel his muscles through his shirt and his hands which had settled on her hips. Even though she had sat in his lap the previous night, this felt a lot more intimate.

"Hey, this is all I'm gonna do." She heard the amusement in his voice. "So chill."

She groaned. "It's annoying how you can read me so well."

"Well, it's easy when ya tense up like that."

She tried to relax, but something else was on her mind now.

"Should we talk about sex?" She asked timidly, hating how her heartbeat picked up at voicing the word.

He didn't react at first, and she almost repeated the question. But then he spoke up, "Do we need to right now?"

"I don't know." She said truthfully. "You tell me."

"I think that we could shelve it for a later date." He said, "You know I'm ready whenever but I doubt you are."

"You are?"

He started to laugh, then groaned. "I can't believe you're asking me this."

Then he tilted her around and kissed her, and she was surprised by the intensity of it. It was different from the ones this morning, which she thought had been pretty passionate.

He pulled back, saying, "I definitely want you. But we've only been on a few dates and will be away from each a lot the next few months. Let's just keep takin' it slow."

"You don't mind?" She said, trying not to be affected by the words _'I definitely want you'_ , and by that kiss, which she was still reeling from.

Jonah grunted. "Well, it's not easy. But you're different. And I'll be fine."

She settled back against him at these words, finally allowing herself to relax.

"Ok." She said softly. "I'll try not to obsess and just go with the flow like you do."

He moved his hands up to her stomach, tightening his grip on her. "Good idea."

They sat there, and it seemed like only minutes went by, but Jonah's phone rang, breaking the stillness.

He shifted them where they were sitting up straight and grabbed the device out of his pocket.

"Hey dad." He said, then his eyes widened at whatever Broderick was saying. "Already? Ok, I'm heading out the door now."

He hung up the phone, giving Sinead a wry look. "Apparently the driver has been ringing the doorbell for ten minutes. Oops."

Her face fell, glancing at the clock to see that he was right, it was past time for him to leave.

"I'll walk you to the door." She said.

It was a quiet walk, and Sinead sighed as they reached the entryway. "I'm not that good at goodbyes." She admitted, fiddling with her hair and looking down.

He pulled her into a hug, "In this case I'm not either. I'll miss you."

A lump grew in her throat as she wrapped her arms around him. "I'll miss you too." She whispered.

He pulled back a little to kiss her slowly, and then stepped back, reaching for his suitcases.

"I'll see ya soon." He promised. "And I'll call you before I leave the island."

"Ok," She met his eyes and gave him one last smile before he walked out the door.

She stood staring at the door for a minute like he would come back through it or something, then shook herself.

 _He's gone. And there's nothing you can do about it._ She thought to herself. _A distraction. That's what I need._

With that in mind, she headed upstairs to her room.

* * *

That's where Amy found her, two hours later.

She stopped and eyed her in the doorway. "What are you doing?"

"Rearranging the room ( _for the 3rd time),_ isn't it obvious?" Sinead snapped, and immediately felt guilty.

"Sorry." She muttered, looking sheepishly back at Amy.

"It's ok." Amy walked in the room, glancing around. "I'm sure the Kabras won't mind. Are you ok?"

Sinead frowned down at the lamp she was holding. "I think so. I'm trying not to think about it."

"I understand." Amy hesitated, then said, "Sinead, if you would rather go back to Boston early, we can do that."

"Go back to Boston?" She hadn't even considered it.

"Yeah, if it's too hard to stay here, you know, since there are memories here."

Sinead smiled. "Like mine and Jonah's first date and stuff?"

She thought a moment but shook her head. "Thanks for being willing, but I think it would be good for me to stay here and get to know everyone better. Back home I might just brood."

As the words left her mouth she groaned, "Listen to me Amy, I'm already different! What has happened to me?"

"What do you mean?" Amy sat down on the bed and peered up at her.

"I mean that normally I'm independent. I do my own thing. I don't rely on many people. But I already miss him after only a couple of hours and feel like the 'overly attached girlfriend' from YouTube."

Amy let out a laugh. "You haven't given me that impression at all. Trust me." She promised. "It's not bad to fall in love Sinead. It happens. People end up meaning a lot to you, and can change part of you."

 _Love?_

The word made Sinead flinch, but she nodded. "I guess so. I just," she let out a breath, "I feel all soft, and I don't like it."

"Vulnerable you mean?" Amy asked. "That's how it is though right? When you open yourself up like that?"

Sinead joined her on the bed. "I suppose that's it."

They sat quietly for a minute, then Sinead let out a small laugh.

"If you would have told me a month ago that I would fall for Jonah Wizard and that we would be dating by the end of this trip, I would have flipped out."

"It's funny how life works huh?" There was a smirk in Amy's voice.

"Yes. I definitely had no idea that my life would change this much before the summer was out. Or become so complicated."

They both contemplated this, and Sinead's thoughts turned to the events of the past several weeks, the ups and downs, fights, kisses, awkward talks, etc.

 _I wouldn't change it for anything. And I think Amy's right. I'm already falling in love with him, and after such a short time too._

Then catching herself, she decided to do what Julie had advised several days back and to just go with the flow, instead of stressing out over things.

She turned to Amy, "Let's go find the others. And then have some fun."

 _One step at a time._

* * *

 **THE END….or is it?**

 **Will possibly be posting a bonus scene...and I'm still contemplating a Vesper-centered Amian sequel so those two can RESOLVE their issues properly. *glares at Ian* maybe you can go ahead and dump that model girlfriend of yours too Kabra?**

 **To everyone who reviewed this story, favorited, and/or followed, THANK YOU!**

 **And to all of my silent readers (those who read but didn't review) thank you for at least reading! That was sort of a review in and of itself. :)**


	26. Epilogue

**Ok so the bonus scene is below, but read the next note if you want to know what my thoughts are for a sequel. There are two options I have in mind.**

 **#1. Publish the sequel I started writing a month ago.**

 **This is a Sinead/Jonah one that centers around them getting used to their relationship, the spotlight, and barely seeing each other. Like the initial fanfic, there is just a little bit of Amy/Ian and Dan/Natalie interaction. I wrote the first ten chapters already, sort of just for myself because I wasn't sure about publishing it. Jonead isn't a real popular couple so I'm a little hesitant writing more when there's not a lot out there about them. (It has both pros and cons)**

 **But anyways it would have the same flow as the first one, with romance/drama being at the forefront, no action.**

 **#2. Fast forward one year to the Vesper action.**

 **I've written three scenes already as they came to me. This one would probably have just as much Amy/Ian in it as Jonah/Sinead, but would start off with recaps of things that have taken place in the last year to set the scene. The only thing about writing this one is that I'll probably have to re-read the Vesper series as I haven't in a while. I'm not following it play by play (it will be a little AU, especially due to the relationship/ages) but I'm not that great at writing action so I will need to read so I can get an idea of how to write this one. If I choose this sequel, it will probably be summer before I even publish it. AND you might be disappointed in my action-y stuff haha**

 **Anyways, I haven't decided and I wanted to see what my readers thought, since you guys are the ones who motivate me. I may decide to do both, like do the Jonead one first and then the Vesper/Amian one.**

 **On to the epilogue!**

* * *

Jonah furrowed his brows at his dad, trying to look as sad as he felt. "Can't I just take ten minutes?"

Broderick sighed heavily. "You already need a break? We've only been rehearsing for half an hour!"

Not wanting to admit that he wanted to use the break to call Sinead before she headed out to go snorkeling, he tried again. "Five?"

"Go ahead I guess. But please be mindful of the other people here." He gestured towards the stage, where Jonah's crew was standing and waiting for further instructions.

"Thanks." Jonah called out over his shoulder, already jogging towards the door.

He had his phone out and dialed before he even cleared it, his heart picking up once he heard her voice.

"Hello?"

"Hey baby. I only have five minutes but I wanted to talk to you."

"Ok, hang on just a sec." Sinead said, and he could hear shuffling in the background, along with voices.

"I'm alone now." She said. "Sorry there was too much noise on the patio. Everyone is eating breakfast before we leave."

"I'm so jealous." Jonah moaned. "I barely talked my dad into giving me a short break to call you. I'm stuck doing rehearsals already."

"Aww poor baby." She said, the smile apparent as she spoke. "I'll have extra fun for you ok?"

"No fair." He responded, but changed the subject, purposely making his tone flirty. "So do you miss me?"

"Miss you? I mean, it's only been a day…" Sinead trailed the sentence.

"I'm hurt."

Laughter came over the line. "Of course I miss you."

"Good. I won't feel pathetic alone. Because I'm aware that it's only been a day also."

It was quiet for a beat, then her soft voice said, "It seems longer, doesn't it? And it's crazy, because I never thought I would feel this way."

Jonah was a little taken aback by her honesty, but answered right away. "Me too."

The scoffing in her voice could be heard, "You've been in a lot of relationships."

"But none like this." He countered.

Sinead sighed, "I guess it won't get any better."

"Hey, don't think of it like that." He chided, though his thoughts had been the same on the plane. "We've got lots of ways to connect. And we'll see each other soon. Maybe I can rework my schedule some to see you sooner."

It wasn't very likely but he was determined to try. He was the number one star on the planet, surely that gave him some power over his schedule right?

"That would be nice." Sinead stated, "But I get that you have work to do. I have my own stuff remember? So we're both in the same boat."

"We'll make this work Sinead."

He didn't know why he felt compelled to tell her that, but he was glad he did when she answered, "Yes we will", in that determined tone of hers, the one she took on when talking about curing her brothers.

A smile played over his face, and he knew if this went on he wouldn't make the five minutes. "I've gotta go. My dad will be hunting me down and he's not in a gracious mood right now."

She laughed again, sending a flutter through him.

 _You're so pathetic._

"I guess I'll let you go then since you're scared of your dad. Or is it Eric?"

"Let's please not talk about him." Jonah said, making a face. "Have fun today."

"You too. Talk to you later."

He had barely gotten a 'later' out before she hung up, but that was fine. Jonah could see Sinead not being good at ending phone conversations.

With a sigh, he tucked his cell phone back into his jacket pocket and headed back into the venue.

* * *

"So then I decked the guy." Dan said calmly. "I would have felt bad, but he totally had it coming."

Amy noticed that her brother's words were met with skeptical looks, but no one called him out on his lie. It actually was mostly a true story, except for Dan had only punched the guy's shoulder. But she didn't say anything, her attention turning back to her plate.

For some reason, she wasn't hungry. Ok, she knew the reason, but she was trying not to let it get to her. She wanted to get on a plane and go home to Boston, instead of being stuck here for three more days. Guilt immediately hit her at the thought. She shouldn't feel this way, her cousins were awesome and she loved spending time with them. Focusing her thoughts back to the conversation, she barely picked up Reagan's question.

"Where did Sinead go?" Reagan she asked, looking around the table. "I didn't even see her leave."

Amy opened her mouth but Dan was already speaking, mouth full of course.

"Talking to Jonah on the phone. Where else would she be?"

He said it as a joke, but it was sort of true. While Sinead hung out with them some, it seemed like she was on her phone quite a bit, though she would vehemently deny it.

"It's so weird to see her like this." Ned commented, a wry grin on his face. "It's something new for sure."

"Ah, young love." Nellie said, like she was decades older than them. "I still remember those days."

"Nellie, you're not that much older than them." Amy said. "Like a few years."

"Five. I'm practically ancient." She moaned. But then she brightened. "But it just means I'm wiser. Like who else can persuade an Italian restaurant manager that he should let me be in charge of his kitchen, brainwash all of his cooks, and then steal the famous Bolognese sauce recipe, all while teaching the staff 'The Crazy Frog Song' in four different languages?"

They all blankly stared at her, before Ian broke the silence. "I'm not really sure what you said there Nellie, but I think I agree?"

They all chuckled, both at Ian's words and Nellie's offended look, just as Sinead walked outside.

"What did I miss?" She asked.

"Oh, just Nellie wisdom." Natalie said breezily, "How's Jonah?"

The auburn-haired girl blushed and looked away. "Fine. How did you know I was talking to him?"

"Because that's all you've been doing since yesterday at four." Ted jumped in and said. "But it's ok. Ned and I like him so you're good."

"Thanks for your approval." Sinead stated as she settled into an open chair, but to Amy her tone wasn't that harsh. Then, to her further astonishment, her friend relaxed and stared out into space, a smile crossing her features.

Was she _daydreaming_ or something?

"I can't believe this." Dan said, teasing in his tone. "You're totally in la la land."

Sinead's head snapped up. "Are you talking to me? No I'm not!"

Everyone just looked at her, but she held Dan's gaze.

"Whatever." He finally mumbled.

"By the way Jonah says hi. And he's jealous that we are about to go snorkeling without him while he's stuck at the venue."

Sinead's voice was smug, so Amy couldn't help but add, "Yeah and you're jealous that he's at the venue without _you._ "

After she said the words she hoped that her cousin wouldn't take them the wrong way, but Sinead only retorted weakly, "I'm not jealous."

"It's ok to admit that you miss your boyfriend." Ned said, but his tone was teasing, "We won't hold it against you - too much."

"He hasn't even been gone 24 hours!" Sinead snapped, "Do I look like one of those clingy girlfriends that would be that bothered by it?"

At the silence that fell, she stood. "Ok, well I have stuff to do before we leave."

"Sinead, we're just kidding." Ned spoke up again, but his sister was already through the doorway.

Madison was the first one to say something. "I think she's just embarrassed that she misses him. You guys shouldn't tease her."

"But it's too entertaining." Dan pointed out, putting his feet up on the patio table. "Sinead never acts like this."

"Dan." Amy sighed, "You're such a brat sometimes."

"You mean I'm fun. Well someone has to be to balance you out."

The words were said jokingly and shouldn't have stung, but they did all the same. Trying to cover it up, Amy turned her gaze out over the gardens. She frowned at a random flower bush and thought about how crazy everything had been lately. Not just with Sinead - who she had to admit was acting a little different now - but with everything. She felt a lot closer to most of her cousins now, but at the same time it was so awkward with Ian.

Trying to push back memories of just days ago, when she and Ian had actually spent time together alone and had a blast, she stood. "I'm going inside for a bit too. Just let me know when we're going to leave."

She left quickly, but her heart quickened at Ian's voice behind her, directed towards Dan.

"Amy can be fun too."

 _Maybe he was thinking the same thing I was._ She thought, biting her lip, trying to hold back the smile that was threatening to break over her face. _Maybe he was thinking about how much fun that day was and how much fun we had together._

But another thought overrode that, _what does it matter though? He sees you as a relative. He has a_ _girlfriend_ _who is drop-dead gorgeous._

Yes, as pitiful as it sounded, Amy had looked up pictures of Ian's girlfriend, and right away wished she hadn't of.

"Hey," a voice said from behind her. Amy glanced back and saw Natalie standing there, arms crossed in front of her.

"Hi Natalie." She answered with no enthusiasm in her voice.

"Look, my brother is an idiot." The girl said, wasting no time.

Amy blinked at her, not sure what to say or how to respond. "Okaaaay." She finally said, prompting a smile from the younger girl.

"Well he is." Natalie sniffed. "I don't think he and his girlfriend will last, so don't be so, what does Dan say, 'bummed out' over it."

Amy forced a smile on her face. She knew that Natalie was trying to help, but a pep talk wasn't exactly going to cut it.

"I think he has feelings for you."

Now that grabbed her attention. "What?" She asked dumbly.

"I think he has for a long time. This girl is just a cover-up." Natalie shrugged, then let out a dainty laugh. "But I didn't tell you that."

"Look Natalie, I appreciate you trying to help." Amy said, overcoming her surprise, "But I'm fine with it ok? He can date whoever he wants."

Natalie gave her a look that indicated she didn't believe her, but Amy ignored it.

"I just am a little homesick I think." She went on, trying to explain. "I miss Boston and this has been a long and eventful trip."

Natalie nodded, "It has been long. I don't mind of course, but it's different with me I suppose."

Amy smiled at this. Though she was jealous at times, she had to admit that her brother and Natalie were adorable together. The British girl was good for Dan, who seriously needed someone to help him mature. And Natalie was a pro at that.

"You and Dan probably loved having this time together."

"Yes. It's nice when we can finally see each other after long separations. And now Jonah and Sinead are going to experience the same thing."

Amy thought about this for a minute, knowing that Sinead would try to play it off, but already seemed to be having a hard time. It looked like there were going to be two people in the house that occasionally moped.

Smiling dryly, she stated, "It looks like I'm going to be the relationship advisor, though I can't even manage to get my own."

She hoped it didn't sound bitter, but Natalie must not have thought so because she grinned. "Hey you never know what will happen."

Amy ignored the promise in the other girl's tone and headed towards the stairs. "I guess not."

But for now, she determined in herself to have fun this week and to ignore Ian. She wasn't even going to let herself think about it.

* * *

 **So short but sweet (I hope haha) ...don't forget to let me know which sequel you want!**

 **Later alligators!**


	27. AN, Bonus Scene

**Ok so I just posted a sequel to this yesterday! I wanted to let everyone know that is following this story, in case you are interested. Also, I don't think the rules 'allow' for me to post just an author's note as a chapter, sooooooo as a bonus (2nd one haha) I decided to share a tiny snippet of chapter 22 from Jonah's POV. I originally was going to post chapter 22 in his POV, but decided to keep it in Sinead's to highlight a couple of things. Buuut here it is. Keep in mind that this is rated 'T', and is from a guy's POV, and is heavily un-edited. ;)**

* * *

"I need to talk to you about one more thing." Sinead said suddenly, once they had settled on the sailboat following their breakfast.

"Ok." He looked over to try to guess her mood but her face was calm. "Wanna sit?"

"Sure." She replied and did so.

He eased in behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him and loving the feeling. "So what's up?"

"This."

He was confused as he noticed that she placed her hands on his arms. "What, our relationship?"

Much to his relief she replied with a 'no', but her next words confused him even further. "Touching. Kissing. Protocol."

He sat there a couple of seconds trying to comprehend but when the answer didn't hit him he turned her around where he could see her face.

She looked apologetic and said quickly, ""Not that I mind the touching or kissing." Then she groaned and added, "This is so awkward!"

Jonah decided to pick out the word that puzzled him the most and start with that. "Explain what ya mean by protocol first."

Sinead met his gaze but he could read a little apprehension in her eyes. "I've only dated three guys."

Surprise hit him at her confession but she was still talking, "The first one I dumped on the first date, that was Clinton, the one I mentioned at the dance studio. Then there was Patrick. He told me that I sucked at relationships after one week of being with him."

 _Is she telling me this to explain why she's been a little hesitant the past few days?_ Suddenly Jonah thought he understood but he patiently waited for her to finish.

"Then there was Jayden, who told also told me that I was horrible, but that was probably because I wouldn't have sex with him after our second date."

 _What a douchebag._

"So all of that being said, I apparently suck at dating. I've only kissed a few guys casually, but there's never been any real intimacy." Sinead had kept her eyes on his this whole time but suddenly closed them - something Jonah realized she did when she was saying something that was really hard for her to admit. Bracing himself, he waited even as his hands started itching to touch her reassuringly.

"I've never had sex. I've never even made out with anyone-" Jonah wasn't really surprised about the sex part but _was_ at the 'making out' part. What was wrong with guys these days? And then her next words hit him right in the gut and he couldn't help but reach out and touch her this time -"and you have all of this experience and-"

She cut off as he rested his hands on both of her cheeks but didn't open her eyes back up. He could see the insecurity all over her face though and hated it.

"Look at me." He commanded gently. Sinead swallowed hard but she reluctantly did so. Her guarded look caused him to immediately start talking, the truth tumbling out of his lips. "I don't care about your inexperience. What you said about only dating three guys surprised me a little, but only because you're so beautiful and such a good kisser."

He couldn't help but grin at her embarrassed expression but kept talking, wanting the doubt to completely disappear from her face. "Those guys sound like idiots. They just said all of that because they weren't man enough to treat ya right. Don't you think I've noticed that you're a little scared of stuff like that?"

She apparently didn't because she looked startled at his words. He almost smiled at her obliviousness but he went on to explain, "I can tell you're hesitant when I touch you sometimes, like you're not sure how to respond. That's why I've been going so slow, I don't wanna make you uncomfortable."

"Wait, you know that I've been freaking out? Why didn't you say anything?"

Not really knowing the answer besides what he already admitted - that he didn't want to freak her out - he just shrugged. Then, wanting her near him again, he moved up to where he was beside her and turned them to face the water.

"We have time." He stated, and hoped as he said it that they would have _lots_ of it. While Jonah didn't really want to say this next part he thought it might help. "Plus, I have moved really fast with girls before, but for all of the wrong reasons. You I actually wanna get to know better, and I know that it took a lot for you to take the steps you have with me. I don't take that trust lightly."

And it was true. Sinead was giving him a lot. He knew that she didn't really open up to people, at least not the way she was opening up to him. There was no way that he was going to jeopardize anything at this point. No matter how much he wanted-

Her words cut him off though just as he felt her head lean on his shoulder, her hair tickling his neck. "It's not that I don't want to kiss you or anything else. I'm just scared I won't do the right thing or something."

 _Seriously? If she only knew how much she tempts me and how much power she has over me she wouldn't even worry about that._

Deciding not to confess that - at least not right now - he wrapped his arm around her and replied, "I don't think that you can do the _wrong_ thing. You're overthinking. If you wanna touch or kiss me, I promise you I won't have a problem with it."

 _Believe me on this one babe._ He thought dryly.

"And making out? What if I do something stupid?" Sinead said it like a challenge, and he couldn't help but respond.

"I'll help you."

He hadn't meant for his response to come out sounding so seductive, but he was serious. He definitely wouldn't have a problem teaching her. In fact, right now-

As if reading his thoughts, Sinead said in a voice almost too quiet for him to hear. "Now?"

Was she for real? His hand fell from her back and grabbed her shoulders instead, pulling her around to face him. Looking into her eyes, he saw that she meant it so he let his gaze drop to her lips, his response coming out the instant his brain caught up. "Gladly."

Jonah didn't waste any time now that he had her consent, kissing her with the intent to show her just how wanted she was. And, not to be arrogant, but how good _he_ could make her feel.

He soon got lost in kissing her; she tasted as good as he had imagined and her responsiveness surprised him. Jonah had almost expected her to freak out when he put his tongue in her mouth but after only a couple of seconds of hesitation she allowed him access, even reciprocating the gesture, although a bit hesitantly.

Her simple touch on his ear was almost his undoing though. She probably had no idea but it was one of his weak points and when he felt her hand there he was slightly caught off-guard.

 _Dang, is my self-control really this bad?_

But as her hand lingered on his earring and she started kissing him back harder, he knew that he was going to have to slow things down. It was the last thing he wanted to do right now, but he managed.

When he finally pulled away from her his eyes caught how inviting her skin looked at her neck and couldn't resist leaning in to brush a few kisses there. Sinead stiffened but he wasn't sure if it was from surprise or what so instead of pulling back he asked, "Is this ok?"

"Yeah." Her response was breathy and she sounded dazed.

 _Good._ Smirking on the inside he trailed his lips to her earlobe, pausing there for a second before he forced himself away from her again.

He shot her a smile when he saw the awe in her eyes, like she was surprised at how good it felt.

"See." He pointed out, hating that his breathing was off. "You aren't the problem."

"Or you're just a really good teacher." She sounded disoriented and he tried not to let it affect him.

 _I could teach you a lot more than that._ He took in her expression again and swore internally, willing his thoughts to go to somewhere innocent. _Think of drowning or something. Wait, we're right by the water, don't think of that-_

"So." Sinead's voice cut in, sounding a lot near normal this time. "I did ok? I wasn't sure how much, um, _tongue_ to use or what to do with my other hand.."

Had she really been analyzing during their make-out session?

"You were thinking that much while we were kissing?" He voiced his question.

"No, just now." Sinead looked a little sheepish as she added, "While you were kissing me I could barely think of anything at all."

"Good." He stated, once again fighting the smirk from appearing on his face. "You're not supposed to analyze while we're doing stuff like that. That's rule number one."

Sinead was staring at him like she was waiting for him to start listing things. Sure enough, the next words out of her mouth were "Are there other rules?"

"No."

She looked a little put-out at his tone and he had to work to hide the smile.

"Just checking." She said, a frown crossing her face.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Jonah was still trying to get himself together, memories of what had just happened coming back to him.

"You smell really good." He said, figuring a compliment would be appropriate.

But Sinead just looked at him like she wasn't sure what to make of his words. "Uh, thanks."

His girlfriend was so _cute_ when she looked all uncomfortable like that. But he decided to take pity on her and change the topic, all the while trying not to think of how in just a few hours, they would be separated for who knew how long. Though he had reassured Sinead over breakfast that there were many ways to keep in contact, he had made himself sound more confident than he felt. The long-distance wasn't going to be easy.

Forcing those thoughts away, he managed to relax and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. He was pretty sure that there would be plenty of time to sort through all of the 'what if's' later.

* * *

 **So yeah. Super short….**


End file.
